Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez participates in a forum on regional development and integration mechanisms of the Regular Session of the Latin American and Caribbean Council. Photo: Twitter/@ViceVenezuela.
In a November 30 speech given during the Regular Session of the Latin American and Caribbean Council, the vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, stressed the importance of Latin American integration to promote regional development.
Rodríguez participated in the Forum on Regional Integration, Perspectives and Experiences of Latin America and the Caribbean in Caracas from November 29-30, organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) with the aim of promoting common strategies for regional integration.
#Entérate || Durante su participación en la Reunión Ordinaria del Consejo Latinoamericano y del Caribe, la Vicepdta. @delcyrodriguezv destacó la importancia de la integración Latinoamerica para el desarrollo de la región.#30Nov pic.twitter.com/RJZBgwty26
— Vicepresidencia Vzla (@ViceVenezuela) December 1, 2022
During the forum, the Venezuelan vice president emphasized the importance of strengthening the productive capacity of the region.
When assessing the competitive potential of the region’s exports, she pointed out the lack of diversification, explaining that regional exports are almost entirely concentrated in energy, soybeans, and the automotive sector.
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“We definitely have to change that formula,” she said. “It has been proven that with greater integration comes greater economic growth.”
However, as for economic growth, Asia holds first place in the world, the United States second, and the European Union third, while Latin America and the Caribbean fall below the world average, Rodríguez pointed out.
Insufficient integration
“There is not enough integration, in a geopolitical sense as well as in a political sense,” said Rodríguez.
“Why did we waste the era that we had once won, the era in which groups of men and women in our region joined efforts at the forefronts of their governments to achieve political union, if it would still be insufficient?” she said. “That political union should be translated precisely into mechanisms of economic integration that could truly revitalize our existence and transform us into the regional power that we are said to be.”
The Venezuelan vice president pointed out that Latin America and the Caribbean has the largest oil, gas, and mineral reserves in the world, as well as the lungs of the planet. “We are said to be a regional power, but the model of the United States Monroe Doctrine has been historically imposed on us.”
#LoDijo || Vicepta. @delcyrodriguezv: El mensaje que transmite el Pdte. @NicolasMaduro para nuestra región es un mensaje de unión, de decir aquí está el pueblo venezolano, de pie resistiendo por encima de todas las dificultades, de uno de los bloqueos más salvajes y más brutales. pic.twitter.com/6QJHgjPUpL
— Vicepresidencia Vzla (@ViceVenezuela) December 1, 2022
She stated that the Monroe Doctrine, which defends the United States’ claim to Latin America’s resources, contradicts the doctrine of Bolivarianism, which is based on development and sovereignty that has marked the history of region.
She added that President Nicolás Maduro’s message to the region is a message of union and resistance and emphasizes the victory of Venezuela against the brutal US blockade.
Strengthening existing mechanisms
Regarding integration mechanisms in the region, Rodríguez highlighted the importance of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), which she said is more alive than ever. However, she clarified that there must be a compass to indicate where to go, “and I believe that statistics can give us that compass, that direction towards which we have to advance.”
On the topic of data, Rodríguez brought up the issue of remittances sent home by migrants, pointing out that this process sustains the external flow of the region. Presenting 2021 figures, she said, “Remittances amounted to $127 billion—this money was not in the productive sector, not in other sectors of the economy, but was associated the migration of our compatriots.”
Regarding the importance of existing integration mechanisms, former Colombian President Ernesto Samper pointed out that there are historical reasons for these processes in the region.
“There are historical reasons to think that certain elements of the integration process could converge in a broadened scope for CELAC, strengthened and enriched with all these historical experiences,” Samper said in his speech. “It is not a question of doing away with these regional mechanisms; rather, it is fundamentally a question of how to take advantage of them.”
He commented that expanding UNASUR would be another option and highlighted its complex experience in terms of integration. “That is why we propose the reactivation of UNASUR with some modifications to its statutes, the first of which would be that any country could be part of UNASUR.”
Proposals put forward in the forum include one to promote the development of infrastructure, logistics, and ports and airports, as well as to promote cooperation and convergence among the various regional authorities and organizations to encourage integration for the development of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/KZ
