Grassroots delegates leading dialogues in Santa Marta, Colombia, to build a popular integration agenda as a roadmap for the CELAC-EU Summit. Photo: teleSUR/Colombia.
The city of Santa Marta, Colombia, became the epicenter of social and political dialogue in the region this weekend with the Third Social Summit of the Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean that concluded today with grassroots representatives from all over the continent.
The event, which brought together more than 1,500 local delegates and featured more than 200 international delegates, opened nine thematic tables dedicated to political dialogue, adhering to the common agenda of the peoples, with a central focus on sovereignty and on condemnation of the interventionist stance of the United States in the region.
The summit, which began Saturday, had the fundamental purpose of fostering discussion among civil society to address common challenges affecting nations, with special attention to critical issues such as migration and the need for deeper integration.
The Third Social Summit makes a historic call for Latin America and the Caribbean to consolidate their role as a “Zone of Peace,” addressing common challenges such as migration. Photos: @RegionesCP.
The significance of this meeting lies in its alignment with the high-level agenda taking place in the same city. The Social Summit was held concurrently with the fourth summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU), which began this Sunday. The presence of civil society representatives from various nations in the region aimed to directly influence the intergovernmental discussions.
The organizers emphasized the objective of the gathering: to actively contribute to fostering peace, democracy, and regional unity. The gathering was held within the framework of the “historical need that the country and the continent are experiencing to defend our region as a Zone of Peace,” a central principle for the Latin American social movements.
This third edition of the summit sought to foster “greater levels of participation and political influence within CELAC as an institutional mechanism for member states.” The perspective promoted is deliberately popular, democratic, sovereign, inclusive, anti-patriarchal, and environmentally conscious, aiming to ensure that the voice of social movements has an effective national, regional, and international presence in CELAC decision-making.
In addition to building a joint struggle agenda among social organizations and movements, the summit strives to determine effective interaction routes between governments and civil society entities in the region.
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The ultimate goal is to establish a constant dialogue that allows the integration of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean from a perspective that addresses the demands and visions of grassroots movements and organizations.
The civil society gathering laid the groundwork for the discussions expected at the CELAC-EU Summit, highlighting the urgent need for integration that transcends purely governmental matters and incorporates the realities and challenges faced by the people. The summit in Santa Marta, therefore, stands as an essential forum for building a more just and sovereign regional unity.
(Telesur) with Orinoco Tribune editing
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/JB
