Chile President Sebastian Pinera, right, with
Cuba President Raul
Castro, before handing over the presidency of the Community of
Latin American and Caribbean States to Castro, making him in
some sense the leader of the continent.
CELAC: 'The Big
Loser is the U.S.; the Big Winner is Cuba' (TerceraInformacion, Spain)
"For me, one of the biggest winners in these summits, and this is a consensus, is undoubtedly Cuba, represented by General Raul Castro. Because the idea that he has reached the presidency of an organization encompassing all of Latin America and the Caribbean is something unexpected and exceptional. ... Such a thing has been achieved thanks only to the momentum created by Commandante Chávez as chief manager, promoter, inspirer and creator of the idea this great association."
-- Former Nicaragua Vice
President Jaime Morales Carazo
Jacinto Suarez, chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Committee of Nicaragua's National Assembly, is of the opinion that the new 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, which pointedly excludes the United States, is a triumph for Latin American integration, for Hugo Chavez, and for independence from Washington.
For Jacinto Suarez, chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Committee of Nicaragua's National Assembly, the Community of Latin American and
Caribbean States (CELAC) is proof that Latin America
and the Caribbean have a unified voice, and it doesn't an imperial power to speak
as a bloc.
"CELAC has created a new
moment, not only in Latin America but the world. CELAC
is Latin America speaking with its own voice, not only politically but in every
sense of the word," Suarez said, in offering his assessment of the outcome
of this regional summit in Chile, where the rotating presidency was handed to
Cuba for the year.
And he also cites the presence of the European Union in
Latin America as confirming that as a bloc, the E.U.
is reformulating its economic relations with Latin Americans, "Latin
America is becoming increasingly integrated."
Given the geopolitics of the situation, for the
Sandinista legislator, the big loser in this context is the United States, which
has been set back by the process of talks being held between CELAC and the E.U.
Obsolete Policy
"While everyone else is recognizing Cuba as
president of CELAC, the United States continues to
insist that Cuba doesn't exist. And even if it still supports [Argentine
sovereignty] over the Malvinas, the U.S. goes on ignoring the fact that the big
loser is the United States, while the big winner is Latin America,"
observed Suarez.
And when it comes to Cuba's assumption of the rotating CELAC presidency, Suarez said this is recognition the
policy they have implemented against the Cuban people "is obsolete, is absurd,
and has no reason to exist."
He said that granting the CELACpresidency to Cuba was no accident, but
a direct message to the United States to reformulate its policy toward Cuba. "It
can no longer ignore the existence of Cuba and be belligerent toward Cuba in
the third world, in Latin America and Europe. "
Hugo Chavez the
great creator of CELAC
Both Suarez and former Nicaragua Vice President Jaime
Morales Carazo recognize Commandante Hugo Chavez Frias, the president of Venezuela, as the great promoter
and creator of CELAC.
"President Chavez is the great author of all this
and his presence at the summit, his message, clearly shows who the leader of
Latin America is - even if histraditional
enemies dislike it: Hugo Chavez. Hugo Chavez holds that leadership. He is the undeniable
father of CELAC, and father of Latin American integration,"
Suárez assesses.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Meanwhile, Morales Carazo is of the opinion that CELAC marks a historic step in the relationship of our
continent with the world, establishing a bloc with 100 percent Latin American
and Caribbean roots.
"For me, one of the biggest winners in these summits,
and this is a consensus, is undoubtedly Cuba, represented by General Raul
Castro. Because the idea that he has reached the presidency of an organization encompassing
all of Latin America and the Caribbean is something unexpected and exceptional.
Such a thing has been achieved thanks only to the momentum created by CommandanteChávez as chief manager,
promoter, inspirer and creator of the idea this great association," Morales
Carazo said.
