Is Latin American Unity a good idea? Why/Why not?

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Great achievements in life rarely happen to lone persons or nations but to people working in unity. People have to put their minds together, and nations have to strive for objectives together, even if they are to achieve the simplest things.

While unity is strength considering the multiple advantages that come along with it, it also comes at a heavy price – the problem of differences. Disagreements, and sometimes inequalities, are inevitable whenever nations and people decide to unite.

In a unity pact, some states reap great benefits, while others reap only a smaller share of the fruits of unity.

Nevertheless, after Latin American nations bury their resentments, grievances, and vindictiveness they stand a chance of attaining their objectives. This paper attempts to prove why Latin American unity is a brilliant idea.

At least for some time now, there have been serious talks and growing awareness of the idea to unite the Latin American nations.

For instance, in 2008 during the inauguration of the summit termed “Unity for Latin America and the Caribbean”, about thirty-three countries came together to consider working together as a people seriously, irrespective of their differences (Chomsky 2008).

Felipe Calderon (the Mexican President) clearly reminded the regional States that they could not afford to stay disunited in the contemporary world. Differences would only hold the Latin American block enemies of peace.

Felipe thus concluded by saying that they could only move forward by uniting based on things that they share together, without necessarily disregarding those that make them different, for their similarities far overshadow their dissimilarities (Latin American and Caribbean Unity Summit Declaration 2010, pp.1-4).

The other well articulated speech was from the Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio. He claimed that the Latin American countries, from the largest to the smallest nation, were quickly waking up to the idea that as a united bloc they stand better chances to contribute in global politics.

He also asserted that the more these countries contribute in the global wealth, the more chances they stand from keeping off the crises that are created by richer nations from hitting on those who did not create them (Latin American and Caribbean Unity Summit Declaration 2010, pp.1-4).

Both of these speeches give an insight just into how much the Latin American people are thirsting for regional unity. Just to borrow from Abraham Lincoln, former U.S President, a house that is divided is a collapsed house (Goodwin 2005, p.86).

History teaches that a divided people will always come crushing to hostile forces. The British, for instance, applied the “divide and rule” method to take advantage of the bickering and wrangling countries and then harshly hit on them (Kumar 1990).

The policy has constantly recurred in the Indian history. Dictatorial powers have continuously exploited and abused the feudal states by taking advantage of their disunity and internal discords. The truth is that, if countries and people are united, nothing can unsettle them (Thursby 1975, p.86).

Unity is power and strength. The overall interest is more salient than the individual aspirations. If the Latin American people manage to bury their dissimilarities and unite on their strengths, they will claim their rightful share in global politics and wealth.

The idea of Latin American Unity has a long history, which runs back probably to the independence of Brazil and Spanish America (Roxborough 1984, p.22).

At this time, the idea to create a regional state was strongly favoured in order to protect the region’s newly gained sovereignty. There was also the discussion to form a “Confederation of Latin American States” to stamp their autonomy.

These projects did not succeed at the time until the nineteenth century when the discussion resurfaced. This time, it was not about protecting Latin American autonomy, but in building international trade with other like-minded countries.

The involved states collaborated with several other countries, but their happiness was short-lived. Like the previous projects, the idea did not yield much, and the entire discussion collapsed altogether.

After World War II, international institutions like the United Nations were created and thus the idea of Latin American Unity resurfaced once more.

The post war experience taught the Latin American countries that no unilateral government could protect its territorial integrity in the event of continental aggression.

The then U.S President, George Marshall, managed to mobilise more than twenty countries to fight communism and bring down Soviet Republic, and this aspect also motivated the Latin American block to push for unity (Herz 2011, p.78).

By mid twentieth century, the idea of unity was slowly crystallising and Latin American organisations partially started forming up. Most of these institutions revolved around their colonial mother countries to which they shared some of their cultures.

The region held its first major summit in 1991, called “Ibero-American Summit”, and three presidents attended. “Iberoamerican Community of Nations” was the product of the Summit, and even today the Mexican, Brazilian, and Spanish heads of States yearly attend its sittings.

While the region first moved to unite on the grounds of regional political autonomy, the outstanding organisations were created based on trade and not political affairs.

For instance, in 1951, the involved nations incepted the Organisation of Central American States (ODECA) to promote regional integration and enhance trade in Central America.

In 1960, “six signatories signed the Latin American Free Trade Associated (ALALC) with an aim of offering tariff discounts to its member states” (Chomsky 2008, Para. 16). The Treaty of Montevideo (ALALC) was later renamed the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI).

Its main goal was to create a common market for regional nations. In 1969, five member states formed the Andean Pact to promote economic cooperation program (O’Keefe 2009, p. 214). It was later renamed the Andean Community of Nations (CAN).

The region held its first major summit in 1991, called “Ibero-American Summit” to promote free movement of goods. In 1995, G3 Free Trade Agreement (GFTA) came to being to enhance free trade.

Besides trade, the region also discovered other areas where they could enhance their regional unity. They realised, for instance, that through regional parliaments they could drive most of their objectives.

One such parliament was formed in 1987 and was named the Latin American Parliament (LAP), which is built in Panama City. The region also created another Parliament in 2004, ‘Mercosur Parliament’, which was expected to be in use by 2010 (O’Keefe 2009, p.73).

In 2007, the region created the Union of South American Nations (USAN). In fact, the media had referred to this union as the United States of South America (USSA).

All these were attempts to realising the Latin American vision of uniting the region (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences 1956, p.19).

One of the recent attempts to unite the region dubbed the ‘Latin American and Caribbean Unity Summit Declaration’ (CELAC) was constituted in Mexico in 2010 by the twenty-first summit of the Rio Group.

It took place on the 22nd and 23rd of February. Its objective was to reaffirm the region’s conviction of forming a formidable organisation that unites all the Latin American and Caribbean countries.

To undertake this effort, the players of the summit focused much in uniting the region under political, economic, social, and cultural fronts.

Without independent and sustainable democracy in the region, quality of life, and equal opportunities, the member-States realised that they might not materialise their aspirations for the region.

Therefore, they sought to harmonise their strengths and weaknesses by exchanging experiences and forging ways and mechanisms that would unite them more than dividing them.

The idea to unite the Latin American community is certainly an excellent idea, and the involved states are already proving to the rest of the world that they have the capacity to change their destiny to the world that any other democratic state would aspire to become.

Just by looking at the positive changes in the region, Latin Americans are quietly telling the rest of the world that they are a force to reckon. CELAC, for instance, aims at transforming the region’s economic, political, and cultural space to a formidable force in the world (Nikandrov 2011).

Other organisations like the South American Nations Union (UNASUR) have become unnerving tools in protecting the region from external interferences and are strongly telling the world that they have the power to ensure that the regional peace is of outmost importance to them.

In fact, by concentrating on their strengths, many organisations are proving that they have more things that unite them than what divides them.

With Colombia and FARC resuming peace talks, the two parties are sending a message that the Latin American unity is more pertinent to them than in fighting (Nikandrov 2011).

The region is also fast becoming a key actor in promoting justice not just in Latin America, but also in the rest of the world. In recent months, for instance, the body has actively supported Ecuador’s effort to grant political asylum to those that lack fair trials in their mother countries (Schuster 2003, p.209).

Julian Assange of the polemical “Wikileaks” is just one of these political asylums. In other words, Latin America is moving from a regional voice to a more global political mouthpiece.

In fact, in the near future it might just become the hub of world democracy (Heinze & Fitzmaurice 1998, p.156).

The Latin American unity has also seen the political scenarios in the region favourably work to their advantage (Leathley 2007, p.118).

The world is already seeing the region’s political governments changing from the historical dictatorial tendencies to people’s governments. Cuban people, for instance, have massively benefited from the region’s unity.

A people that were once aggressively treated can now enjoy peace in the Latin American world. The regional unity has brought along some of the fundamental uniform policies and administration that has thoroughly done away with the dictatorial structures.

Furthermore, history indicates that unity is stability. The more united countries are the more settled they become (Phillips 2002, p.99). With Latin American States uniting, it is unlikely that one country will pick up arms against another.

Conflicts would always be resolved at early stages amongst member countries. In fact, it creates a forum in which countries can identify their differences and forge ways of moving forward. Besides, Latin American unity will create more opportunities for member states to participate in global decision-making.

Nevertheless, unity among states has both merits and demerits. Despite the numerous benefits that the Latin American states are likely to accrue after uniting, the unity might also give way to economic disintegration if not well managed.

For decades, nations within the Euro zone enjoyed a stable relationship. The countries had strong economies and enjoyed stable economic relations. Nevertheless, poor leadership in some of the states has led to all the member states suffering from the current euro crisis (Pew Research centre 2012, para.6-9).

The same case might apply to the Latin American states. Even though the different countries are likely to strengthen their economic ties thus boosting their economies, failure by some of the member states might adversely affect the economies of all the member states.

Even though the Latin American states are likely to benefit from their unity, the states are yet to achieve unity. There are varied factors that still hinder unity in this region. One of the factors is the distinct ideological models embraced by the various countries.

The Latin American states have different ethnic compositions, huge disparities in social and economic development, varied political institutions, and different international policies (Schaffner & Horn 2003, p.46).

Despite the call for unity in the region, the different countries continue chasing divergent goals with contradicting policies and approaches. Lack of common goals within the region is hindering the unity among the Latin American states.

In Latin America, transnational integration is taking place at the corporate and professional levels rather than at the governmental levels (Schaffner & Horn 2003, p.43). Rather than uniting, the Latin American countries continue forming clusters.

Countries like Mexico and the Caribbean are strengthening their ties with the United States, while Brazil enhances its ties with Africa, Middle East, and Asia.

The divergent ideologies held by leaders in the various Latin America states are hindering unity among the states.

Reference List

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences 1956, Regional Round Table on Forages in Central America, Costa Rica, Bib. Orton IICA/CATIE.

Chomsky, N. 2008, Latin American Unity. Web.

Goodwin, D. 2005, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Simon and Schuster, New York.

Heinze, E. & Fitzmaurice, M. 1998, Landmark Cases in Public International Law, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, London.

Herz, M. 2011, The Organisation of American States (Oas), Taylor & Francis, New York.

Kumar, R. 1990, Problem of Communalism in India, Mittal Publications, New Delhi.

Latin American and Caribbean Unity Summit Declaration 2010. Web.

Leathley, C. 2007, International Dispute Resolution in Latin America: An Institutional Overview, Kluwer Law International, Netherlands.

Nikandrov, N. 2011, US Gangsterism actually Reinforces Latin American Unity. Web.

O’Keefe, T. 2009, Latin American and Caribbean Trade Agreements: Keys to a Prosperous Community of the Americas, Netherlands, BRILL.

Pew Research centre 2012, Greeks and Germans at polar opposites: European unity on the rocks. Web.

Phillips, J. 2002, Exploring Psalms: An Expository Commentary, Vol 2, Kregel Academy, New York.

Roxborough, I. 1984, ‘Unity and Diversity in Latin American History’ Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 16 no. 1, pp. 1-26.

Schaffner, H. & Horn, C. 2003, Work in America: A-M, Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, California.

Schuster, L. 2003, The Use and Abuse of Political Asylum in Britain and Germany, Routledge, London.

Thursby, G. 1975, Hindu-Muslim Relations in British India: A Study of Controversy, Conflict, and Communal Movement in Northern India, 1923-1928, Netherlands, BRILL.

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Is Latin American Unity a good idea? Why/Why not?

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