Wednesday 17 December
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Panama’s
Economy, Strong and Healthy
FMLN Front-runner in El
Salvador
Venezuelan President
Defends Regional Fund
Cuba Officially Joins
Rio Group
Brazil, France To Sign
Agreement On Defense,
Nuclear Energy
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Cuba Officially Joins
Rio Group
Sauipe Coast, Brazil -
Cuba on Tuesday
officially became a
member of the Permanent
Mechanism of Political
Consultation and
Coordination of Latin
America, better known as
the Rio Group, the sole
mechanism of political
consultation in the
region.
In its extraordinary
meeting held Tuesday at
Sauipe Coast, a seaside
resort in northeastern
Brazil, the Rio Group
made official the entry
of the island country,
on the sidelines of the
first Summit of Latin
America and the
Caribbean (CALC), which
is to conclude
Wednesday.
Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez praised the
incorporation of Cuba in
the Rio Group, saying
that "Cuba is
essentially the heart
and the dignity of the
peoples of Latin America
and the Caribbean...Cuba
always should have been
returned to its place.
Now we are complete, we
are assembling a good
team."
He noted that all Latin
American integration
schemes, such as the
Southern Common Market (Mercosur),
the Andean Community,
the Caribbean Community
and the Central American
Integration System "are
welcoming Cuba, with
open arms."
Cuba was expelled from
the Organization of
American States (OAS) in
1962, on the grounds
that its political
system was "
incompatible" with the
inter-American system.
That was a decision
driven by the United
States, whose government
had imposed a political
and economic blockade on
Cuba.
For years, several
member countries of the
Rio Group had reiterated
their willingness to let
Cuba enter as a
governmental entity,
considering it necessary
to complete the group.
In November this year,
in the Mexican city of
Zacatecas, the 27th
Meeting of Foreign
Ministers of the Rio
Group agreed to grant
Cuba the category of
full membership.
Cuba's entry to the
forum is interpreted as
a triumph of Cuban
diplomacy, as well as of
countries such as
Venezuela, which had
been proposing its
inclusion, and Mexico,
which held the temporary
presidency of the group
when the decision was
taken.
The group was formed on
Dec. 18, 1986, by the
Declaration of Rio de
Janeiro signed by
Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia, Mexico,
Panama, Peru, Uruguay
and Venezuela, to help
end armed conflict in
Central America.
The group holds an
annual meeting that
brings together heads of
state and government and
foreign ministers. Panel
decisions are adopted by
consensus among its
members. During the Cold
War, it was considered
an alternative to the
OAS, which was dominated
by the United States.
At the end of the
summit, Cuban President
Raul Castro will pay an
official visit to Brazil
to further boost
bilateral ties.
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