President Nicolás Maduro speaking at a press conference in late 2022. File photo.
During his speech at the inauguration of the Science Technological Park of Venezuela, modeled after Iranian frameworks, in Miranda this past Tuesday, President Maduro vocalized his support of a Latin American and Caribbean common currency, stressing that “Latin America and the Caribbean have to have an economic integration bloc and monetary system.”
For Maduro, a unitary currency and an integrated economic system would prove that Latin American countries can “show themselves united to the world” in the same way that the member states of the European Union remain united after the consolidation of their economy around the Euro.
He also highlighted the role of the African Union, calling it a “major power” that has not given up despite the “unfair colonialist treatment of Africa by the global north.”
The idea of creating a common currency in Latin America was first publicly raised by the presidents of Brazil and Argentina, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Alberto Férnandez, respectively, during the recent summit of the member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
The currency in question, which will be known as the “Sur” and will challenge the US dollar in a vital region for Washington, would mark the world’s second largest currency union.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/FV/KZ
