Argentine President Cristina Kirchner and Brazil's Dilma Rousseff Attending CELAC Summit

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Argentine President Cristina Kirchner and Brazil's Dilma Rousseff Attending CELAC Summit

Leaders of Latin American and Caribbean countries were attempting on Saturday to set the foundation to a new transcontinental body that would include all Latin American and Caribbean countries, excluding from it the United States of America and Canada.
The new organization, called the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is supposed to replace the existing Organization of South America, and is expected to include 33 countries and to bring an era of prosperity and independence in Latin America.
The summit was hosted by a military fort in Caracas and was led by the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, who said that the cornerstone for development and independence was being laid now. 10,000 security forces assured the safety of the summiters.
The Cuban president Raul Castro called the event the most important event in 200 years of independence, one that would ensure independence for all Americas, “if it works and is successful,” the president added.
Chavez outlined the need for an organization as CELAC, saying that it would usher in a new era for the Americas, and would reduce the reliance on the United States of America.
Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua deemed the CELAC as the death of the Monroe doctrine that established back in the 19th century the US supremacy in the American continent.
The US State Department said that for the time being the United States will cooperate with the Latin American and Caribbean countries through the existing OAS but added that the CELAC could be a partner as well.
Brazil’s vice minister for South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, Antonio Jose Ferreira Simoes, said that a democracy clause was introduced on Thursday in the laws referring to the functioning of CELAC.
According to Simoes, if a member country does something that goes against the democratic order, it can be suspended from the organization. Simoes added that Brazil favors the decision making process based on consensus.
The foreign ministers of the countries gathered in Caracas also issued and approved statements on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, food security and terror. The next reunion of the CELAC members will be in Chile, and then it will take place in Cuba in 2013. OAS secretary general expressed hope that the new organization would enhance inter-American dialogue.

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