The first meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) with the Government of mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador as a host has been marked by the absence of the crisis of Venezuela and Bolivia, the two political issues more acute. Front to 29, chancellors and deputy chancellors, the mexican minister of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, launched this Wednesday at an event called to prop up the regional leadership of Mexico and its ability to become a mediator in a context where the blocks traditional are diluted.
The mexican presidency, however, will begin with two open wounds: the of Bolivia, whose new Government cancelled their attendance, and that of Venezuela, that convulsive day lives after the maneuvers of chavez to wrest control of the Assembly John Guaidó with a vote disqualified in the European Union and the united States. This time, however, international criticism included the reproaches of Mexico and, with increased intensity of Argentina. Before these two controversies the CELAC will keep silence. The agenda designed by Mexico until the 8th of January 2021 shall be without prejudice to, predictably, controversial subjects or that require a common position in the political arena.
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The 14 points on which they will work during the coming months, to circumvent aspects of ideological or political agendas and focus on concrete objectives and measurable, that have to do with trade cooperation, spatial, or in the case of natural disasters. In addition to strengthening cooperation with China, Latin america will work on a “methodology CELAC in the fight against corruption,” said Ebrard to list the objectives. “We have a tendency to maximize the disagreements,” admitted the chancellor mexican at the end of the first session, which defined it as “cordial and respectful”.
Mexico’s hopes that his presidency of the CELAC will serve to consolidate its role as arbiter thanks to the doctrine Estrada – proclaimed non-intervention in matters affecting other countries – and that defines the threads of the foreign policy of Lopez Obrador, considered by himself as “exemplary”. “The foreign policy of Mexico is exemplary. It is something that is acknowledged on all sides, as again they start to talk about Mexico, as I said before, is the big brother in Latin America and The Caribbean,” he said last Tuesday the mexican head of state. CELAC, founded ten years ago with the impetus of Hugo Chávez and Lula da Silva, with the participation of all the countries of the continent except the united States and Canada -unlike what happens in the Organization of American States (OAS) – which is equivalent to 7.1% of world GDP.
But even though the CELAC to bypass the thorny issues, these crept into the appointment of the Wednesday from the first moment. The transfer of the presidency did not attend, nor Bolivia, or Brazil, confirmed Ebrard without adding more details. In the coming months, the agency will have to fly over for a region that transit between elections, tensions and economic stagnation. On may 3, Bolivia will go to elections. In parallel, Venezuela, Nicaragua, or Chile portend a tense year on the street and in the Congress.
The Foreign minister of Nicaragua, Denis Moncada, and the vice president of venezuela Jorge Rodriguez Chancery of Venezuela
In the medium term, in the bosom of the CELAC could be prepared, according to several sources, the momentum of a possible renewal of the general secretariat in the OAS, one of the most difficult situations on the agenda. The current address for Luis Almagro is seen as a trend for mediation, but with the support of the united States, the main funder of the agency. Mexico and Argentina are in favour of promoting the candidacy of María Fernanda Espinosa, former foreign ecuadorian, which could add some support in the Caribbean. To go out and later must convince another large group of countries like Canada -absent of the CELAC-, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Colombia, or El Salvador, which, a priori, support Almagro.
In the last weekend began to take shape the third way mexican and, when both foreign affairs criticized what happened in Caracas with John Guaidó. Mexico did vote for the National Assembly to democratically elect their board of directors and warned that “the legitimate functioning of the Legislative Power is pillar inviolable of democracies.” For its part, the argentine ministry of foreign affairs, considered it “unacceptable for the democratic society” what happened and called back “as soon as the democratic normality” and the safeguarding of the independence of powers in Venezuela. Argentina recognized in this way, the Maduro administration is not democratic. The posture of both countries did not go unnoticed to Elliott Abrams, the senior official of the State Department, who applauded the change.
In terms of their immediate interests, Mexico wants to push to impose its agenda on regional development for the countries of the Northern Triangle of Central america, a project that seeks at all costs its funders. Hours prior to the meeting of the CELAC, all the ambassadors and consuls of Mexico heard of the project of Alicia Bárcena, secretary general of Cepal, the agency under the UN, with the aim of activating all the levers possible to achieve money in a future donor conference.
