The OAS Does Not Represent Latin America: President Arce Says

During the 6th Summit the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Bolivia’s President Luis Arce affirmed that the Organization of American States (OAS) is an obsolete, ineffective, and illegitimate institution.

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"The OAS acts against the principles of democracy by interfering in the internal affairs of its member countries. It does not contribute to the peaceful settlement of disputes. It generates them," Arce assured and urged Latin American countries to strengthen the CELAC.

"It is time to put aside our differences and build stronger bonds of brotherhood between our peoples to defend Latin American sovereignty ahead of the OAS destabilization attempts," he added. 

During the Mexico-hosted summit, 18 representatives of Latin American governments met to discuss issues of regional interest such as the COVID-19 pandemic, equitable access to vaccines, and climate change.

As part of the arrangements reached, the CELAC approved a US$15-million fund to counter the effects global warming and disaster situations in the region and agreed to demand funds to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNCC) to fight the climate crisis.

CELAC also agreed to request the International Monetary Fund (IMF) resources to reduce the foreign-debt burden on Latin American countries and endorse a Health Self-Sufficiency Plan proposed by Alicia Barcena, the secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

This plan seeks to guarantee equal access to COVID-19 vaccines in the region. To this end, it proposes to create a regional platform for clinical trials and vaccine development and agree on common mechanisms for purchasing vaccines and accessing their intellectual property.

Regarding this, Cuba’s President Miguel-Diaz Canel reiterated his country’s willingness to strengthen supplying and production agreements of Abdala and Sovereign 02 COVID-19 vaccines with other Latin American countries.