A New Relationship Is Developing Between the US and Latin America

Latin America is moving toward a new relationship with the United States. The summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, held in Havana at the end of January, is part of a transformation in relations between North and South America.

Two documents were adopted at the second CELAC summit: a resolution declaring Latin America and the Caribbean a “peace zone,” and the final declaration of the summit, which was concerned with issues and priorities shared by the 33 states that signed the documents.

The introduction to the final declaration – which has 83 paragraphs in total – highlights the shared commitments of the countries:

“Let us strengthen our democracies as well as all human rights for all; let us provide more opportunities for our peoples; let us build more inclusive societies; let us improve our productivity; let us establish closer trade links; let us improve our infrastructure and connectivity and the necessary networks that unite our peoples more; let us work for the sustainable development to overcome inequalities and for a more equitable distribution of wealth so that everybody feels that democracy provides a new sense to their lives. That is the mission of CELAC, that is the task we are called upon to carry out and the political responsibility that we have ahead of us, and for which we should be accountable to our peoples.”

The 56th paragraph registers support for the Colombian peace process:

“[We renew] our support for the dialogue process being held in Havana, Cuba, between the Colombian Government and FARC and welcome the progress made in reaching an agreement on two important items of the agenda. We call upon the parties to continue this process aimed at putting an end to the internal conflict that has affected the political, social and economic development of that sister nation for more than 50 years.”

The U.S. reacted to the second summit with disappointment, “We are disappointed that the CELAC, in its final declaration, betrayed the region’s outspoken commitment to democratic principles, as it endorsed the single party system in Cuba.”* This is because the CELAC member countries – including every country on the continent except the U.S. and Canada – agreed to fully respect “the sovereign right of each of our peoples to choose their own political and economic system.”

The precipitous reaction in no way corresponds to reality. The summit declared its express adherence to United Nations principles and resolutions, and the summit also benefited from the participation of the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States José Miguel Insulza, as well as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Latin America does not intend to treat the U.S. in the same way the U.S. treated it in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is not about ignoring the United States, but about trying to establish a relationship that is based on dialogue and respects self-determination, a relationship that is more balanced, fair and democratic.

Latin America is not Uncle Sam’s backyard. For the past quarter century, and at an accelerated pace for the past decade, three different dynamics have been intertwined in the countries south of the Rio Grande, and they are becoming increasingly intentional, active and collectively undertaken: to become more democratic, increase integration [as a region] and develop new ways of relating to the United States. The third element is both a condition and consequence of the first two. The potential for a cohesive Latin block is gestating in the amniotic fluid of peace: peaceful solutions to conflicts between countries, ending armed internal conflicts where they occur, and enabling the region as a whole to make a decided contribution to global peace.

A new reality is emerging on the continent of the Americas. Although it is troubling to some, it is in everyone’s best interest.

*Editor’s note: This quotation, accurately translated, is attributed to a “spokesperson” in a different article, but could not be verified. The aforementioned article can be found HERE.