Reflections on CELAC

Reflection on formation of CELAC

(Community of Latin American and Caribbean States or CELAC is likely to deepen Latin American synergy to reduce the widely perceived influence of United States on politico-economy of Latin America)

Nation states often tie up due to geographical, historical, political and cultural reasons and form regional organizations for mutual gains and attainment of shared interests. Through the creation of such organization or association the region tends to assert its autonomy which depends on the balance of global forces. Regional organizations such as Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and European Union (EU) have proven to be playing a crucial role in shaping the destiny of their member countries. However, to sustain the momentum of such regional integration for mutual benefit it is imperative that member countries evolve common understanding on crucial issues and challenges facing them.

Backdrop of CELAC

Reflecting this perceived significance of regional groupings at the global level, 33 Latin and Caribbean countries came together at a summit of leaders on December 2-3, 2011 at Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, to form the ‘Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, who is one of the prominent faces behind mooting of the idea and formation of the regional bloc described the event as the triumphant fulfilment of the dream of regional solidarity and integration espoused by South America’s independence hero-Simón Bolívar nearly 200 years ago. Simon Bolivar is regarded as an icon in Latin America due to his efforts to free the region from yoke of colonization during early nineteenth century. His efforts, however, were frustrated at that time by US through invoking Monroe doctrine.

CELAC is expected to have wide ramification in the region and repercussions at international level. This is due to the fact that it is a grouping of such nations which have traditionally been considered as backyard of United States of America since the Monroe declaration of 1823. Till the recent formation of CELAC, the most prominent grouping of the region from last half century has been Organisation of American States (OAS), which has widely been perceived as Pro-US. OAS is the regional body constituted in 1948 largely through US efforts in the backdrop of cold war with the stated objective of ‘defeating Communism’. The grouping has not been able to take independent position several times resulting in it being criticised for having a pro-US tilt. Recent instance of the same has been the Honduras coup in 2009 when it failed to make an effective intervention to restore democracy against military, allegedly done at the behest of US. 

CELAC, which pointedly excludes the United States and Canada, encompasses all of the other countries of the hemisphere, including Cuba. It exemplifies the accelerated political distancing and increased independence of the region from US, and also reveals how much the region’s politics has changed in last decade especially after much talked about ‘Bolivarian revolution’ in 2002 in Venezuela through which the left leaning Hugo Chavez came to power. Formation of CELAC is culmination of a decade-long push for deeper integration within South America through the efforts especially of Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) countries Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia etc which came into existence in 2004.

CELAC is being created to deepen Latin American integration to reduce the widely perceived influence of the United States on the politics and economics of Latin America. It is being viewed by many as an alternative to the OAS. The regional body formed is also a reflection of political trend in the region characterised as ‘pink tide’ in which centre-left political formations come to power through democratic process in several nations in the region such as Bolivia, Nicaragua, Brazil on the plank of social justice, against neo-liberal policies and multilateralism in the international arena. At the same time, the countries of the region increasingly see the OAS as an historical anachronism, harkening back to a time when the US exercised much more direct influence in the region’s affairs.

Elaborating this general perception in the region in an interview in February 2010, President Evo Morales of Bolivia said, "A union of Latin American countries is the weapon against imperialism. It is necessary to create a regional body that excludes the United States and Canada. ...Where there are U.S. military bases that do not respect democracy, where there is a political empire with his blackmailers, with its constraints, there is no development for that country, and especially there is no social peace and, therefore, it is the best time for prime ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean to gestate this great new organization without the United States to free our peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean."

Precursor groupings

CELAC has emerged from the merger of two Latin American groupings - Rio Group mooted by Mexico and the Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development (CALC) propelled by Brazil as a mechanism of regional integration. The Rio Group came into existence in 1986 as a mechanism for consultation and concerted political action building on the experience of the Contadora group composed of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Panama. Rio group has been credited with developing the response of a Latin American to the policies of US under President Reagan in Central America. The Rio group presented itself as a political referent, a democratic voice for Latin America in the world, during turbulent period in wake of end of cold war. It emerged as a substantive interlocutor of Latin America with the rest of the world. At the United Nations (UN) forum, it succeeded in articulating a common voice for the region until its influence and pro-US tilt in pretext of promoting democracy in the region found its challenge in Venezuela led by Hugo Chávez government in initial years of first decade of twenty first century.

New initiatives by Brazil such as the European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean Summit (EU-LAC) in 1999 has also resulted in setback to the Rio Group’s profile as the new grouping emerged as epicentre of region dialogue with Europe. The new South American regionalism developed mainly at Brazil’s initiative after the South American Summit of 2000. It reached a higher level in 2008 with the establishment of CALC which allowed Cuba to join in the meetings of Latin America and the Caribbean. It merged with the Rio Group at the Unity Summit in Riviera Maya, Mexico in 2010. In fact this process of regional leaped even further when the idea for CELAC originated during the twenty-third Rio Group summit in 2010, held in Cancun, Mexico. It was proposed as a successor to the Rio Group and the Latin American and Caribbean Summit (CALC). 

Emphasis

CELAC places emphasis on consultation and cooperation across a number of areas. In fact the Caracas Declaration “In the Bicentenary of the Struggle for Independence: Towards the Path of Our Liberators” goes to state, “that CELAC, as the only mechanism for dialogue and consensus that unites the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, is the highest expression of our will for unity in diversity, where henceforth, our political, economic, social and cultural ties will strengthen on the basis of a common agenda of welfare, peace and security for our peoples, with a view to consolidation of our regional community.” It elaborates further on the underlying guiding theme of the grouping when it says, “That it is necessary to deepen cooperation and the implementation of social policies to reduce the existing internal social inequalities with the aim of consolidating nations that are able to achieve and exceed the Millennium Development Goals.”

Problems

It is not that every one is very optimistic about the capacity of CELAC to achieve its stated objective despite much fanfare surrounding its formation. A significant reason for this paranoia is that many different forums and bodies act in different public policy fields in Latin America and the Caribbean in response to different mandates. It demonstrates the difficulties of securing cooperation among such a large number of forums and institutions with different mandates. Such forum includes different combinations of countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as, in some cases, the U.S. and Canada or Spain and Portugal. ALBA, MERCOSUR ( Common Southern Market), UNASUR( Union of South American Nations) are some examples of divergent grouping operating in the region presently.

An organisation such as CELAC is unlikely to become a point of consensus unless its member states give up pursuing their own specific interests. Members include Mexico and the countries of Central America, whose international problems are directly linked to the US, the Caribbean region, and many South American countries, such as Colombia, Chile and even Brazil, that have not adopted foreign policies that are antagonistic to Washington as is the case with ALBA countries.  CELAC has come into being, under the significant influence of Venezuela, as a compromise between the unification projects instigated by Mexico (the Rio Group) and Brazil (CALC). It faces the difficult challenge of achieving regional representativeness overcoming different political currents in the region and moving forward with many different cooperation projects in Latin American and the Caribbean which has got stalled in past.

Reactions to CELAC

The U.S. has however downplayed the significance of the group. U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said “The U.S. will continue to work through the OAS as the pre-eminent multilateral organization speaking for the hemisphere”. US is also likely to put diplomatic and other pressure to curtail the influence of CELAC. President Barak Obama has even stated that he don’t want to be remembered as the man who lost America’s ‘backyard’. Significantly, the formation of CELAC was welcomed with open arms by Chinese President Hu Jintao, who congratulated the new group, promising to “deepen cooperation with CELAC” and emphasizing the fast-growing, mutually-beneficial relationship between China and Latin America. China is viewed as an important player in the global arena which is likely to play a crucial role in shift towards multilateralism. The prompt observation of China shows the importance it is placing on CELAC for forging relationship with Latin American countries in future.

Concluding remarks

In the present global scenario marked by shifting of balance of international forces from unipolar to multilateralism (read breaking of US hegemony), the regional integration through bloc of developing countries in Latin America has the potential to hasten the process by aligning forces at the international level. But for this to happen, it is a must that member nations overcome their parochial differences and build a stronger relationship based on shared values, concerns and interests.