Latin American countries should create their own union, following the example of the EU with a link to local realities
This proposal was made by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the summit of foreign ministers of member states of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. In his opinion, the Community would replace the Organization of American States, headquartered in Washington.
“The proposal is no more and no less than to create something similar to the European Union, but tied to our history, our reality and our identity. In this sense, we should not rule out replacing the OAS with a truly autonomous body, not someone’s lackey, but a mediator at the request and agreement of the parties to the conflict in matters of human rights and democracy”, – Obrador was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
According to the Mexican President, this is the only way to say goodbye to “imposition, interference, sanctions, isolation and blockade”.
He admitted at the same time that the issue of creating such an alliance required a “new political and economic vision”.
Obrador’s statement came amid Mexico’s disagreement with the position of OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro on a number of issues. In particular, their views on the events that took place in Venezuela in 2019 diverge. At the time, Mexico City said it recognised Nicolas Maduro as the country’s legitimate president, while Almagro called the Venezuelan head’s regime a “usurped power dictatorship”.
In addition, Mexican authorities support Cuba, against which the US has maintained an economic embargo for decades and where the food and medicine situation has seriously deteriorated since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is long overdue”
Experts point out that the idea that the Mexican president has come up with has been in the air for a long time. The reason for this, according to Dmitry Burykh, advisor to the President of the Russian Socio-Political Centre, is that the OAS follows the course imposed by the United States.
“There is a long overdue need for such an alliance in the region, given that the Organisation of American States, which is now a key regional mechanism, is de facto under the influence of the US and its temporary allies, radical right-wing regimes trying to impose a similar agenda to the West”, – Burykh explained in an RT comment.
Recall that the OAS is one of the oldest regional organisations in the world. It was created on April 30, 1948, at the 9th Inter-American Conference in Bogota (Colombia) on the basis of the Pan-American Union. It consists of 35 countries, including the USA and Canada. The main areas of the OAS declared activities are maintaining peace and security in the Western hemisphere, settlement of disputes between the member states and protection of their territorial integrity. The OAS is headquartered in Washington.
As Dmitry Burykh stressed, the creation of an EU-style union that would replace the OAS is a rather ambitious task that will not be easy to accomplish.
“Implementing such an idea would be very difficult. It would face strong opposition from the US, which sees the Organisation of American States as one of the key mechanisms for implementing its policies in the region. Nevertheless, the experience of Cuba and Venezuela will make it possible to create an effective and respected organisation”, – the analyst believes.
Vladimir Shapovalov, Deputy Director of the Institute of History and Politics of Moscow State University, also considers the creation of a regional alliance by Latin American countries natural. According to the expert, they are united by a common history, culture, tradition and religion. However, he agrees with Burykh’s point of view that the U.S. will hinder such undertakings in every possible way.
“The idea of closer integration and cooperation between Latin American countries has existed for quite some time. Another thing is that they are currently in the grip of the US, which since the first half of the 19th century under the Monroe Doctrine has seen them as a subject territory”, – Shapovalov stressed in a conversation with RT.
Pursuit of separateness
However, experts note that in the practice of the Western Hemisphere, there is already successful experience of the organization of associations. In particular, Vladimir Shapovalov reminds that, for example, Venezuela has managed to create the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) – the union of Latin American and Caribbean countries with socialist orientation. The declaration of its creation was signed in 2004 by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
In addition to ALBA, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), created in 2010 to better integrate Latin American countries, also operates successfully.
In this regard, Shapovalov stressed that the idea expressed by the Mexican president is quite timely.
“The processes taking place in Latin America show that more and more politicians and leaders want to separate themselves from the USA and create their own effective platform. That’s why I am convinced that the future of Latin American countries lies in this kind of unification”, – said the expert.
For his part, Dmitry Burykh suggested that Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil could join the Latin American union.
“Despite certain difficulties, it is quite feasible to create such an organization and to launch it so that it subsequently becomes a serious and respected regional mechanism that would be able to mediate conflicts”, – Burykh summed up.
Polina Dukhanova, Alyona Medvedeva, RT