Celac summit: Uruguay proposes to create a free trade area in Latin America and the Caribbean

The president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, proposed this Tuesday that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) promote the creation of a regional free trade areaand criticized the group’s countries that “do not respect democracy or human rights”.

At a summit marked by Brazil’s return to the bloc following former President Jair Bolsonaro’s exit, the Uruguayan president asked his peers in this forum that brings together 33 countries to stop talking and act. .

“Isn’t it time to open these relations and for Celac to promote a free trade area from Mexico to southern South America? Can’t we move forward in that direction?” he asked.

“There we have the possibility to trade freely. Many of our economies are complementary and I am sure we could go forward,” said Lacalle Pou, when his country is under pressure in Mercosur after the decision to negotiate a free trade agreement with the China, which its partners Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay view with suspicion.

ideological frictions

The Uruguayan president, one of the few center-right leaders in South America, attending the summit taking place this Tuesday at the Sheraton hotel in Buenos Aires, criticized the “ideological temptation in international forums”which ends up making them fade.

“I have heard speeches that I fully agree with, others that I partially share, others that I share with almost nothing. other concepts that are very nice but sometimes not put into practice”.

Lacalle Pou also referred to the coup against the headquarters of the three state powers in Brasilia on January 8.

“All the countries that are here condemn these actions against democracy in Brazil,” remarked Lacalle Pou of the coup d’état by former President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters against public authority buildings in Brasilia on January 8, calling for a coup d’etat. état which caused the fall of the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

And the declaration of the Celac summit “speaks of respect for democracy, human rights and the care of institutions”.

But “clearly there are countries here (…) that do not respect institutions, democracy or human rights,” he launched.

“We don’t have a hemiplegic view (…) according to the ideological profile,” he asked.

The CELAC appointment, in the midst of a ferocious police operation as protests were expected due to the presence of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro – who canceled his visit at the last minute – takes place in a turbulent moment in South America, amid violent protests in Peru against President Dina Boluarte and marches in Bolivia against the arrest of the opposition governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, in December.

After the failed coup attempt on January 8 in Brazil, and when marches against the government of Nicolás Maduro grow in Venezuela too due to the economic crisis, Argentine president Alberto Fernández, host of the summit, warned that “democracy is threatened”. , and launched a strong call for regional integration.