By Daniel Nardini
The Community for Latin American and Caribbean Countries (CELAC) concluded on January 31st, its fourth annual meeting held in, of all places, Havana, Cuba. Its two main decisions coming out of this conference is to fight poverty and income inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean and support Cuba against the United States. What a joke! CELAC, created in 2011 by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, was founded on the premise that Latin American and Caribbean countries (mostly ruled by leftist governments) will “determine their own destiny.” The United States, Canada, and British, French, Dutch and Danish possessions in the Americas are excluded from joining CELAC.
The U.S. and Canadian governments blasted the whole conference because it excluded one important premise that would do more than anything else to fight against poverty—freedom and democracy. But then the whole summit was an exercise in hypocrisy. The Cuban government kept all Cuban dissidents and ordinary people away from the summit. Secret police either rounded up and imprisoned all Cuban dissidents or had them confined to their homes. Hence, there was no one at the summit to challenge the Cuban government, and certainly no Cuban dissidents to lend their voice. So both the U.S. and Canadian governments have a point when they state that really nothing can and will come out of this type of organization.
When Chavez founded CELAC, he wanted it to be “free” of any influence from the United States and any other “imperialist powers.” He also made it free from democracy, freedom and the rights of the individual. Chavez’s hatred of the United States and Canada was so thorough that CELAC does not even allow those non-government organizations that may be based in the United States and Canada but which certainly do not agree with either governments. But it goes back to my point that the individual does not matter in CELAC. Nor does freedom, democracy and the rights of those who wish to be represented. As far as I am concerned, CELAC marches to the beat of a different drummer….towards the wrong direction of history.
CELAC: Marching In The Wrong Direction
By Daniel Nardini
The Community for Latin American and Caribbean Countries (CELAC) concluded on January 31st, its fourth annual meeting held in, of all places, Havana, Cuba. Its two main decisions coming out of this conference is to fight poverty and income inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean and support Cuba against the United States. What a joke! CELAC, created in 2011 by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, was founded on the premise that Latin American and Caribbean countries (mostly ruled by leftist governments) will “determine their own destiny.” The United States, Canada, and British, French, Dutch and Danish possessions in the Americas are excluded from joining CELAC.
The U.S. and Canadian governments blasted the whole conference because it excluded one important premise that would do more than anything else to fight against poverty—freedom and democracy. But then the whole summit was an exercise in hypocrisy. The Cuban government kept all Cuban dissidents and ordinary people away from the summit. Secret police either rounded up and imprisoned all Cuban dissidents or had them confined to their homes. Hence, there was no one at the summit to challenge the Cuban government, and certainly no Cuban dissidents to lend their voice. So both the U.S. and Canadian governments have a point when they state that really nothing can and will come out of this type of organization.
When Chavez founded CELAC, he wanted it to be “free” of any influence from the United States and any other “imperialist powers.” He also made it free from democracy, freedom and the rights of the individual. Chavez’s hatred of the United States and Canada was so thorough that CELAC does not even allow those non-government organizations that may be based in the United States and Canada but which certainly do not agree with either governments. But it goes back to my point that the individual does not matter in CELAC. Nor does freedom, democracy and the rights of those who wish to be represented. As far as I am concerned, CELAC marches to the beat of a different drummer….towards the wrong direction of history.