CELAC makes us more independent and sovereign › Cuba › Granma

Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eleven years after its founding in Venezuela, on December 2, 2011, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean Nations (CELAC) has taken strong steps in the path of our America’s integration, although its mission may not be without challenges.

A few hours before the start of the 7th Summit of the Integration Organization in this southern city, the Director General of Multilateral Affairs and International Law of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), Rodolfo Benitez Verson, participated in the Communications Team of the Presidency of the Republic. Republic assessments of events that represent milestones in the development and consolidation of society.

– In the face of a complex international scenario, from which our region is not excluded, how do you assess the context in which the summit of the new Community of Latin American and Caribbean States will be held?

– The seventh summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States will be held in a highly complex regional and global context characterized by serious challenges. The world is witnessing a multidimensional crisis that includes the health crisis caused by the emerging corona virus, as well as the energy and food crisis, in addition to accelerating inflation and economic decline.

In the midst of all this, – explained the interviewee, – paradoxically, there is a sharp increase in world military spending, which has already reached a record figure of more than two million dollars, including the modernization of nuclear weapons, of which there are more than thirteen thousand, the number enough to destroy the planet.

Benítez-Verson did not lose sight of the fact that the pandemic had severe consequences and made the dysfunctions of the international system more visible.

The effect in Latin America was – as it was reflected – terrible: in the region, as elsewhere in the world, there have been many deaths from the virus: despite the fact that our region’s 670 million inhabitants represent only eight percent of the population. World population, we already have 28% of deaths as a result of the pandemic.

And Benitez considered that our region, which was the most unequal in the world before the outbreak of the epidemic, is emerging from the pandemic with a greater degree of inconsistency than what it actually suffered from.

The pandemic has also shown, the diplomat said, that the solution to the problems facing the region will not come from abroad: many governments in Latin America and the Caribbean have remained, Benitez said, waiting for vaccines at the most critical moment. They never arrived because rich countries divided them and brought them together for their own benefit.

“In the midst of such a scenario, the good news is that the regional political configuration is more appropriate. That is, there is a correlation between forces in favor of governments that are more progressive, that focus more on social justice, and that are more aware of the importance of regional coordination and integration. And this is the regional and global scenario that, in our opinion, marks this summit in Buenos Aires.

– As already reported in various international media, an important event will take place in the context of the Seventh Summit, which is the return of Brazil to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, how important is that?

– Cuba welcomes with great satisfaction the decision of the new Brazilian Government, headed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to fully reintegrate this country into the work of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, thus reversing the decision of the previous government not to continue participating in community action since 2020.

“There is no doubt that Brazil is a very important actor, not only regionally but also globally, which can contribute significantly to our coordination and integration efforts. In fact, Brazil played a very important role in the process of establishing the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, on the occasion of the Conference The Summit on the Integration and Development of Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place in Costa de Suebi, in 2008, at the invitation of President Lula.. There, a regional consensus was demonstrated for the first time to move towards a mechanism of coordination and integration of its own, without the presence of actors from Outside the region “.

“We believe that the return of Brazil is excellent news for the region, and we are sure that this will indicate very positively the results of this summit,” he added.

– What is Cuba’s assessment of Argentina’s administration as Pro Tempore President of CELAC in 2022?

– In our opinion, the balance in the Pro Tempore presidency of Argentina during 2022 has been very positive, and the community has obviously been strengthened in the last year. This nation has shown firm commitment to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and great activity. His administration allowed the continuation of the revitalization process that began under Mexico’s presidency, in January 2020.

“The plan of action proposed by Argentina at the beginning of its presidency — considered by many to be overly ambitious — has been duly implemented and well implemented. Various topics of common interest have been broached in the many meetings that have taken place, including three Meetings of foreign ministers; resumption of the meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the European Union, which has not taken place since 2018; held several meetings of the Forum of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States-China and among the ministers of the region, of various ranks, who discussed and agreed on joint projects On the most diverse topics, including education, culture, science, technology, innovation, the environment, and others ».

During the presidency of Argentina, the unified voice of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States began to be heard again in multilateral organizations, in particular in the United Nations, including the debate that took place on November 3 in the General Assembly of the United Nations, on the occasion of the study of a draft Resolution to demand an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the Government of the United States against Cuba: the voice of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States has also been heard there.

“All in all, we consider it to have been a very positive presidency and one that deserves all of our appreciation.”

– The Declaration on Latin America and the Caribbean Area of ​​Peace, approved during the second summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, in Havana, in 2014, is one of the most far-reaching decisions of the integrative organization. What does this fact mean in light of the current scenario?

– In our opinion, this event constitutes a milestone not only for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, but also for our region. It is a document that I would classify as advanced.

Benítez-Ferson, citing some of the components of the text, noted that by this declaration the region committed itself, at the highest level, to forever prohibit the use and threat of force, and promised to always resolve differences peacefully.

Likewise, by endorsing the Declaration, we have all committed ourselves to fully respecting the inalienable right of the states of the region to freely decide and choose their own economic, political and social system, without any kind of direct or indirect interference and to fully respect the sovereignty of all provinces.

The declaration also records, as commented by Rodolfo Benítez, the region’s consistent position in favor of a world without weapons, starting with the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons, as a means of building trust between nations.

“The declaration states that its postulates will be a reference for relations between the countries of the region, and therefore the international community is required to respect those postulates in its relations with the member states of the group.”

“In short, I believe it is an advanced document, a reference for other areas, and we are quite certain that the Seventh Summit will reaffirm the full validity and relevance of the important assumptions of this declaration.”

– Eleven years have passed since the founding of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. What is Cuba’s assessment of this organization from the perspective of international relations?

– It is important to note that the Constitution of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States is a response to a historical need, an essential step to make the vision of Martí and Fidelista our America concept, which represents a milestone in the history of our peoples, a reality. . The Commander-in-Chief himself, Fidel Castro Ruz, called the event the hemisphere’s most important institutional event of the past century.

“From this decision, for the first time in more than two hundred years of independence of our region, 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, without extraterritorial presence, met and established their own mechanism for consultation and integration.”

“Without a doubt, we are more fragile in isolation and separation, and only by working together and holding together will we be able to face the great challenges of today’s world as a region. For all these reasons, I believe that the presence of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States makes us more independent and more sovereign, as well as more relevant to the international field.”