From April 10 t0 11 there will be held the VII Summit of the Americas (SA) with the participation of officials from 35 countries. Cuba has been invited for the first time 20 years after the creation of the meeting of Heads of State and Government, although Cuba actually has never been absent.
The controversy about the exclusion of Cuba of its natural spaces in the community of American nations marked an event organized by the United States (US) and its “ministry for the colonies,” the Organization of American States (OAS).
The matter was finally solved for this VII Summit in Panama. Face to face to this event, Trabajadores Newspaper approaches its readers to some of the characteristics of the SA held and specially that to be held in Panama.
How was the SA born?
The SA was an initiative of the US that after behind its noble purposes to “extend prosperity by means of the economic integration and the free commerce, eradicate poverty (…),” underhand was hiding its real interest to create a platform in the region that will help it to promote and implement the planned Free Trade Treaty of America (FTTA) a project that finally was defeated in the SA held in 2004 after a fierce battle leaded by the former Presidents of Venezuela Hugo Chavez, Nestor Kirchner from Argentina and Lula da Silva from Brazil.
Where were the previous SA held?
The I SA, in the US (Miami) from December 9 to 11, 1994, II SA, Chile (Santiago de Chile) from April 18 to 19, 1998, III SA, Canada (Quebec) from April 20 to 22, 2001, IV SA, Argentina (Mar del Plata) from November 4 to 5, 2005, V SA, Trinidad and Tobago (Port Spain) from April 17 to 19, 2009 and the VI SA, Colombia (Cartagena de Indias) from April 14 to 15, 2012.
There were two other summits on Sustainable Development from December 7 to 8 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia and an Extraordinary summit from January 12 to 13, 2004 in Monterrey, Mexico.
How was Cuba invited to participate in the VII SA?
Cuba’s exclusion to the SA was a controversy since 1994, but in the V Summit (Trinidad and Tobago (Port Spain) from April 17 to 19, 2009) the tension increases due to the strong critics by the heads of States from Venezuela (Hugo Chavez), Bolivia (Evo Morales), Brazil (Lula da Silva) and Argentina (Cristina Fernandez).
In the VI Summit (, Colombia (Cartagena de Indias) from April 14 to 15, 2012), the choir of nations claiming the presence of Cuba turns deafening. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa abandoned meeting in protest, and he was followed by his counterparts from Venezuela and Nicaragua. Bolivia (Evo Morales) and Brazil (Dilma Rouseff) also left. The message was very clear –There will be no other SA without Cuba—and it was later subscribed by the country members from Alba-tcp, Unasur and Caricom, 24 from the 35 countries that participate in the SA.
Finally, Panama in its condition of venue of the VII Summit sent a formal invitation to the Cuban government and Cuba confirmed its participation in equal conditions.
Does this mean Cuba will return to the OAS?
On May 26, 2009, the Cuban chancellor Bruno Rodriguez Parrrilla recognized “the OAS is today totally anachronistic, which serves alien interests, and we feel the Cuban direction is that of the Latin American Caribbean integration, without extra continental presence.” Weeks later, in the fervor of the XXXIX General Assembly of the OAS, in where the resolution adopted in 1962 that took Cuba out from the Inter American System as member of this organization was abolished. The Cuban government issued an explicit Declaration:
“(…) Cuba receives with satisfaction this sovereignty and civism expression, at the same time thanks the governments that, with the spirit of solidarity, independence and justice, have defended the Cuban right to return to the Organization. Cuba also understands the desire to free the OAS from a stigma that had lasted as a symbol of servility of the institution.
“Cuba, however, ratifies once more that will not return to the OAS.
“Since the triumph of the Revolution, the OAS has played an active role in favor to hostility policy of Washington against Cuba. It has made the economic blockade official, provided the embargo of weapons and strategic products (…). It is an organization whose role and tradition Cuba condemns.”
From that moment to up-to-now, the situation has not changed. Cuba will participate in the SA, but keeps its decision to not be member of an institution with such bashful past.
How has been organized the SA to be held in Panama?
The VII summit has been called under the slogan: Prosperity with equality, the challenges of cooperation in the Americas.
The official atmosphere of the event will be the meeting of the heads of the heads of States and Governments foreseen from April 10 to 11 in Atlapa Conventional Center. There is special interest in the international media for the supposed first official meeting between the Cuban President Raul Castro and the President of the US Barack Obama.
Days before of the heads of State’s top level meeting there will be the hemisphere Forums. Some voices from the region, like that from the Panamanian professor Olmedo Beluche have denounced that its organizing design aims to be well used by the US, as stage to attack other nations. In declarations to Prensa Latina (PL) he asserted that the Summit is designed to help the policy of that nation in the continent.
The Forums called are:
- Civil Society and Social Actors Forum: to be held at El Panama Hotel from April 8 to 10. Slogan: Prosperity with equality: Strengthening cooperation beyond Panama.
- Youth of the Americas. Fourth Call. Venue: El Panama Hotel from April 8 to 9. Slogan: Partners for Prosperity.
- Enterprise for the Americas. Venue: Rui Plaza Panama Hotel. April 9 and 10. Slogan: Building Bridges in the Americas Megapolis Conventional Center from Hard Rock Hotel to be held on April 9 and 10. Slogan: Prosperity and Education: The challenge of cooperation in the Americas. The role of the universities.
- Parallel to the forums and with the top level segment of the SA, there will be held the Summit of the Peoples also called the Summit of the Union and the union movements from Our America.
The SA has as slogan: Latin America, a Homeland for all, in peace, in solidarity and social justice. It will be held from April 9 to 11 at the Paraninfo, in the University of Panama.
There will be Magisterial Conferences (Evo Morales has been confirmed), debates in plenary and 15 Work Tables about topics like Latin America, peace region harassed by the US; the economic political and media offensive against Venezuela; Neo-liberalism and the human rights; social security, pension system and the way of life, union freedom, migration and the right to go on strike, the struggle of the native people and farmers. The Invasion to Panama and interventionism.
After the official segment of the SA conclude on April 11 at 5:00 pm, there will be the closing of the union meeting and that of the union movements with the continent in solidarity meeting.
Which participation will Cuba have in the SA?
Besides the Cuban delegation headed by the Cuban President Raul Castro Ruz, organizations and different actors in the Cuban society have registered according to the established procedure by the SA with the goal to expose the experiences of Cuba in the different hemisphere Forums.
As well as other countries and precisely to exchange the best proposals, several institutions organized the forum to be attended: Americans thinking, forum of the Cuban Civil society on March 18 and the Youth and the Americas we want on March 25.
The topics of the SA’s call have also been debated during these days with the public opinion from the media. In Trabajadores‘ edition before, we shared with the readers, part of the questions-answers about the civil society generated in the Forum in our website.
