Latin America and the Caribbean call for more international funding at landmark summit

COUNTRIES from Latin America and the Caribbean called on Tuesday for more international funding in the region following economic and climate crises, in a final declaration after a landmark summit held in Argentina.

The document from the summit held in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires said: “We stressed the need for international regional financial institutions, such as the multilateral development banks, to improve credit facilities through clean, fair, transparent and accessible mechanisms.”

The 111-point Declaration of Buenos Aires from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) seventh summit described how effects of Covid-19, climate change and the war in Ukraine had rippled across the region. 

“We express our concern that several countries emerged from the pandemic with higher levels of public debt,” it said. 

The statement also stressed the importance of democracy across the region, expressed support for negotiations between the Venezuelan government and its opposition, and demanded the United States lift its blockade on Cuba.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sent a recorded message saying that he had chosen not to attend due to “permanent conspiracies, the permanent threat, calculated ambushes.”

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva’s presence at the summit meanwhile marked his first trip abroad since taking office on January 1.

It was also a landmark summit marking Brazil’s return to Celac after Lula’s predecessor Jair Bolsonaro took the decision to leave the community because he objected to the presence of Cuba and Venezuela.

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou was a dissenting voice, calling on leaders to not have a one-sided vision according to their ideology, saying: “There are countries here that respect neither democracy nor institutions nor human rights.”

President Pou did not identify any nation by name.

The Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was elected to take over Celac’s rotating presidency for 2023.