“Democracy is a conquest of the region that does not allow for interruptions or setbacks”: the message of CELAC in its final document

The final document issued by the CELAC After the meeting held this Tuesday in Buenos Aires, he claims, among the more than 100 points that make it up, that “democracy is a conquest of the region” and that “it does not allow for interruptions or setbacks”.

The statements from the Latin American and Caribbean countries forum come after pro-Jair Bolsonaro protesters attacked government buildings in Brazil, just a week after Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva took office.

Moreover, just over a month after the autocoup led by Pedro Castillo in Peru and whose social consequences have already caused a hundred deaths.

But, above all, in the midst of the controversy generated by the complaints against the governments of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba on respect for human rights and their autocratic regimes.

The agreement reached by all CELAC countries highlights the “commitment to democracy, the promotion, protection and respect of human rights”.

It also recalls that, in the spirit of what was stated in the Declaration of the 2010 Riviera Maya Latin American and Caribbean Unity Summit, “Democracy is a conquest of the region that does not allow for interruptions, according to the legal order of the States, or setbacks”.

“We reiterate that our strongest commitment to the preservation of democratic values and with the full and unlimited validity of the institutions and the rule of law in the region”.

In turn, they emphasized commitment “respect for the constitutional powers of the different powers of the State and constructive dialogue between them”. In this sense, the CELAC statement comes at the same time that the Argentine government defended its assault on justice and the impeachment request against the members of the Supreme Court this Monday before the United Nations.

Venezuela, Cuba and Malvinas

Meanwhile, in his section on the Venezuelan question, whose president Niccolo Maduro decided at the last moment not to travel to Buenos Aires, citing that its safety was not guaranteed, CELAC welcomed “the agreements reached on November 26, 2022 in the context of the process of dialogue and negotiation between the Government of Venezuela and the Venezuelan Unitary Platform, promoted by the governments of Mexico and Norway”.

“In this regard, we welcome the support of the international community for the implementation of these agreements”, indicated.

Meanwhile, as regards the Cuban situation, reiterated the historic claim to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade against the island, “which, in addition to being contrary to international law, causes serious damage to the well-being of the Cuban people”.

“Likewise, we reiterate our rejection of unilateral lists and certifications affecting the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. In this regard, we call for the exclusion of Cuba from the unilateral list of countries allegedly sponsoring international terrorism,” they added.

Meanwhile, the forum promised to continue the work within the UN General Assembly “to ensure that the Latin American and Caribbean region is a territory free from colonialism and settlements.”

In this sense they reiterated “the firmest regional support for the legitimate rights of the Argentine Republic in the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, as well as the continuing interest of the countries of the region in the resumption of negotiations between the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a view to finding, as soon as possible a final and peaceful settlement of this dispute”.

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