Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, center, Argentine President Alberto Fernández, right, and Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa, meet with businessmen at the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina , on Monday, January 23, 2023. Lula’s presence marks the summit on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 in Buenos Aires between the member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)
PA
BUENOS AIRES
The VII Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) to be held on Tuesday in Buenos Aires is marked by the reincorporation of Brazil to this political forum that does not escape the ideological divisions that cross the region.
The appointment also takes place at a turbulent time in South America, following the suppressed uprising of right-wing protesters in Brazil and protests by political dissidents in Peru and Bolivia.
Celac, made up of 33 countries, is a forum for political consultation that was born in 2011 at the initiative of then-President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela to differentiate himself from the Organization of American States, questioned by him and other leftist leaders for his “alignment” with USA.
At Tuesday’s meeting, attention is focused on the presence of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” Da Silva, who after returning to power for the third time in January decided to reincorporate his country into the forum from which his predecessor, the right-wing Jair Bolsonaro,
The left-wing Brazilian leader arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday, a day before the meeting, with messages of criticism directed at the Latin American right, after the violent demonstrations by Bolsonaro supporters at the headquarters of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of Brazil .
Bolsonaro had removed his country from Celac three years ago, considering that it had become a stage that gave prominence to Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.
These three nations, questioned for disbelieving democracy and committing human rights violations, will make an appearance at the Buenos Aires summit, which has sparked controversy.
The main opposition force to the government of Argentine President Alberto Fernández rejected the assistance of Cuban President Miguel Díaz Canel.
He also harshly criticized the eventual participation of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who finally gave up going for security reasons and amid requests from Argentine opponents to be detained due to the arrest warrant against him in the United States for alleged drug trafficking.
The Venezuelan government denounced that Maduro did not attend the meeting due to “a plan drawn up within the neo-fascist right, whose objective was to carry out a series of attacks” against the country’s delegation. Maduro will be replaced by his chancellor.
The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, who decided days ago not to attend, will also be represented by an official.
The controversy surrounding the quote contributed to its tarnishing.
Patricio Giusto, director of Political Diagnosis, told The Associated Press on Monday that “it will be a gray summit” where the focus of attention will be placed on the presence of those challenged governments, on “the issue of human rights and not so much on relevant issues that the region would need to discuss and for which the Celac forum could be useful”.
The government of Fernández, a Peronist allied to Da Silva in the region, has rejected the criticism received and maintained that Celac is a “multilateral” forum for global dialogue, to which representatives of the United States and China have been invited this time.
The political instability suffered by Brazil, the largest Latin American economy, and its neighbors Peru and Bolivia will also be on the lips of the participants, which would leave in the background the program that Argentina -which exercises the pro tempore presidency- wants to promote, so that this agreement mechanism becomes a true integration system.
Peru is experiencing a wave of protests after Pedro Castillo was ousted and imprisoned last December for having attempted to dissolve Congress. Demonstrations to demand the resignation of his replacement Dina Boluarte, formerly vice president, have caused more than fifty deaths.
In Bolivia there have been protests after the arrest of the opposition leader and governor of the province of Santa Cruz, the right-wing Luis Fernando Camacho, at the end of December.
Camacho is being investigated for alleged terrorism for his participation in the 2019 political crisis, which led to the resignation of then-President Evo Morales after elections considered fraudulent.
This story was originally published on January 23, 2023 7:59 p.m.
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