More than two hundred years after the beginning of the first independence processes in Latin America and the Caribbean,

the founding of Celac, in December 2011, was a milestone in regional history

.

The rise of progressive and leftist governments that took place in this part of the world during the first years of the 21st century was an essential element to advance in the definitive concretion of the integrationist organization.

With its foundations formally established at the I Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean on Integration and Development (CALC), held in Salvador de Bahía, Brazil, in December 2008,

CELAC was born as the first mechanism that integrated the 33 nations of Our America

, without extra-regional presence, nor imperialist interests involved.

In order to comply with what was agreed upon at the 2008 Summit, the II CALC, known as the Unity Summit, took place in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, in February 2010.

There it was decided to create a regional organization that would merge the Rio Group and CALC.

It was the genesis of a mechanism that sought to materialize the dreams of unity, justice and sovereignty of great heroes of the region such as Bolívar, Sucre and Martí.

Fidel, Chávez and Lula were the main promoters of this dream that would come true in December 2011, when Venezuela hosted the founding Summit of Celac.

On that occasion, Army General Raúl Castro defined Celac as "our most precious work" and stated that its purpose would be to consolidate a united and sovereign region, committed to a common destiny.

Celac, Raúl said,

would provide us with the political instrument required to unite wills, respect diversity, resolve differences, cooperate for the good of our peoples, and show solidarity with one another

.

The Army General then called for the establishment of a new paradigm of regional and international cooperation, and said that within the framework of Celac we would have the possibility of building our own model adapted to our realities, based on the principles of common benefit and solidarity.

And, then, he affirmed that the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean demand and require a better distribution of wealth and income, universal and free access to quality education, full employment, better wages, the eradication of illiteracy, the establishment of true food security, a health system for the entire population, the right to decent housing, drinking water and sanitation.

Celac was created with the purpose of deepening the political, economic, social and cultural integration of Latin America and the Caribbean.

In its 11 years of founding, its actions have been directed precisely towards that objective;

focused on preserving unity in the great socioeconomic, political and cultural diversity that characterizes our Great Homeland.

Celac is a mechanism that is committed to a greater degree of political coordination in the face of the challenges imposed by the current scenario of deep economic crisis.

It promotes peace, stability and the right of every State to build its own political system, free from threats, aggressions and unilateral coercive measures, from a coordinated perspective in the concert of the United Nations.

Six Summits of Heads of State and Government have been held: I Summit, Chile, January 2013;

II Summit, Havana, January 2014;

III Summit, Costa Rica, January 2015;

IV Summit, Ecuador, January 2016;

V Summit, Dominican Republic, January 2017;

and VI Summit, Mexico, September 2021.

As a result of several changes in the governments of the region, marked by internal conflicts in several countries, the increasingly frequent unconventional plans and methods of Washington and its interventionist policy, and the complex economic, health and logistical scenario caused by the pandemic of COVID-19, Celac was unable to materialize some projects.

However, the Pro Tempore Presidency of Mexico during 2021, with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at the helm, gave a new impetus to the mechanism, which has manifested itself not only in projects, but also in facts.

The Presidency of Argentina during 2022 gave continuity to the rebirth of Celac and leaves, according to experts on the subject, a very positive balance for the region.

Today,

Celac is strengthened with the incorporation into the progressive axis of the governments of Gustavo Petro in Colombia, Gabriel Boric in Chile, Xiomara Castro in Honduras, and the return to the mechanism of Brazil

and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

However, the VII Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), which will take place on January 24 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, will take place in a regional context marked by the rise of new governments in recent months, internal conflicts and disputes between neighboring countries, as well as the incessant attempts by right-wing sectors to boycott the progress of progressive and popular projects.

Once again

, the urgent need to “walk in a tight square”, to maintain unity in diversity is reaffirmed

.

Milestones of Latin American and Caribbean integration

"It is time for the recount and the united march and we have to walk, in a tight square, like silver in the roots of the Andes", José Martí

  • December 14, 2004, the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, sign the Joint Declaration for the creation of ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of America) and the first summit of this organization is held in Havana;

    an integration mechanism based on the principles of sovereignty, respect and solidarity between countries.

  • In November 2005, in the Argentine city of Mar del Plata, during the IV Summit of the Americas, the resolution to create the Free Trade Area of ​​the Americas (FTAA), which was an initiative of the United States, was buried.

    Venezuela and the member countries of the Southern Common Market expressed, through the final document, that "negotiations to create a Free Trade Area of ​​the Americas (FTAA) must be immediately and definitively suspended," which meant a political defeat. for then US President George W. Bush.

  • As of 2006, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Dominica, Ecuador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and Honduras successively joined ALBA.

    In 2012, Saint Lucia and Suriname became full members of the organization.

  • May 2008, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) was founded, a space for multilateral political discussion whose efforts are aimed at achieving the unity of the South American nations, under the recognition of their regional objectives, social strengths and energy resources.

  • December 15 and 16, 2008, the Summit of Heads of State of Mercosur and Associated States, convened by the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, takes place in Costa do Sauípe, Bahia, Brazil.

    Cuba attended this Summit as a guest country, where it was decided to join the Rio Group.

    In the final press conference of the meeting, it was reported that the attending countries would work on the creation of their own organization for Latin America and the Caribbean, without the presence of the United States.

  • February 2010, the 33 independent countries of the region meet at the Unity Summit, Playa del Carmen, on the Riviera Maya, Cancun, Mexico.

    The attending Heads of State and Government coincided the II Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean on Integration and Development (Calc) and the XXI Summit of the Rio Group, from which emerged a declaration that allowed establishing the schedule for the foundation of the Celac.

    The final document of the meeting stated the desire to "build a common space with the purpose of deepening the political, economic, social and cultural integration of our region and establishing effective commitments for joint action for the promotion of sustainable development in Latin America and Caribbean".

  • On December 2 and 3, 2011, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), made up of the 33 independent countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, was established in Caracas, Venezuela, hosted by President Hugo Chávez.

    Twenty documents are adopted at the meeting, among which the Caracas Declaration and the Action Plan stand out.

    During its founding in Caracas in December 2011, Chávez expressed: "one of the great things that Celac has is that despite the differences, we are here to debate and outline the course of true integration and solve our serious problems."

  • December 2012, the first Celac Summit is held in Santiago de Chile.

    At the meeting, Cuba received, from the hands of the hosts, the Pro Tempore Presidency of the integrating mechanism.

  • January 28 and 29, 2014, the II Summit of Celac is held in Havana.

    Latin America and the Caribbean are proclaimed as a Zone of Peace.

    The Pro Tempore Presidency of Cuba was a period in which a greater involvement of the Caribbean countries in the initiatives of the Community was achieved.

    30 documents were approved, among them: Political Declaration of Havana, Plan of Action of Havana and 28 Special Declarations on various topics.

    The China-CELAC Forum was also established.

  • 2015 III Celac Summit in Beln, Costa Rica.

  • 2016 IV Celac Summit in Quito, Ecuador.

  • 2017 V Celac Summit, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

  • 2021 VI Celac Summit, in Mexico City, Mexico.

See also:

VI Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States begins (+ Live Transmission)

  • See the link, VI Summit Results 

  • See the link, Relevant Celac Documents