Celac faces a new threat from the right | Comment

Beyond the issues discussed, not only in the Latin American situation, but also their importance, the small number of presidents and government officials who attended the conference: out of a total of 33 heads of state, only 15 attended, of which 7 were Caribbean islands.

It is a fitting change from the annual summit, which until 2023 was seen as a central place for meeting and sharing among rulers across the region, but also for debate and conflict.

Likewise, the presence of Caribbean presidents and prime ministers clearly reflects the influence of the St. Vincent-led presidency and the underlying support of a group of island governments that act as a more or less homogenous bloc. Strategic elections and various places like Celac and OAS.

The deliberate absence of key leaders of the Latin American right was a second element that discredited the summit. Argentina's Javier Mille, El Salvador's Naib Bukele, Ecuador's Daniel Noboa and Luis Lagale Bowe are absent; Among other things, they reduced the political impact of the meeting.

Since its inception at the end of 2011, Celac has been elevated as an organization to defend a common space against the interference of foreign powers.

The deliberate exclusion of the United States and Canada has always been accepted by all leaders who wish to engage in this plan of integration. , climate change and, in particular, the pandemic, sanitation and public health crisis.

Due to a lack of interest in the regional space, a lack of convictions about mechanisms of articulation and integration, or, more importantly, an apparent desire to get closer to the US than to use joint efforts on common issues. In Latin American territory, the truth is that in this case the right-wing retreat in an area like Selac is remarkable.

Without any doubt, and In the presence of eight left-wing governments, Selák gained ideological coherence. Under the influence of Brazil, who again chaired the organization after its abandonment during the Jair Bolsonaro government, contradictory and supposedly neutral arguments have had less impact on complex issues, for example, Venezuela's internal political situation or position regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

But despite some of the fundamental names of our region, such as Lula da Silva, Gustavo Pedro and Nicolás Maduro, this session did not achieve much deployment in the plans to be developed until the next summit in 2025.

With a more technical than political profile, LCondemnation of Israel's policy of war in Gaza. The declaration was convenient and timely, but it was limited when the United States faced the reality of a region whose wealth and natural resources were under threat, or when the United Kingdom had new reclamation projects in the South Atlantic. or efforts to engage Latin American governments in support of NATO in the conflict in Ukraine.

By common consent it was decided that the present would go to the pro-presidential position Honduras is a ground test for the foreign policy of Xiomara Castro's leftist government.

Likewise, it is an implicit acknowledgment of the renewed vision of Central America brought about by Bugel's repressive policies in El Salvador; Due to the complicated internal situation in Nicaragua; Following the political crisis in Guatemala and the electoral victory of incumbent President Bernardo Arevalo; And in Panama's upcoming presidential elections, former president Ricardo Martinelli, its main candidate until a month ago, was disqualified by justice for fraud.

Likewise, and from a broader geopolitics, comprehensive Northward migration wavesAs well as the growing trade dispute between the US and China and infrastructure projects, Central America is one of the hottest regions on the planet.

But the main challenge for Xiomara Castro to take over is to lead and protect an institution that various right-wing leaders are trying to empty of its original content based on autonomy and brakes, based on its direct integration with Washington. For external intervention. His absence from this presidential summit is just a warning of what's to come.

Anyway, it's clear Right-wing leaders prefer not to debate or express themselves On the other hand, they are emboldened by presenting their views in reserved areas, as happened at the recent Conservative and Trumpist conference at the Davos Business Forum, or CPAC. Location in Washington.