European Union dismally fails in summit for Latin American dictatorships

By: Carlos Sánchez Berzaín - 27/07/2023

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The so-called Summit of the European Union and the Community of Latin-American and Caribbean States (CELAC in Spanish) appears to be an effort of 21st Century Socialism’s dictatorships to legitimize their regimes that violate human rights and wield power through the use of State terrorism in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. Their attempt to present the Castrochavist dictatorships as something “normal” at a meeting with the European Union has failed because it brought to light the dictatorships and their crimes and has shown that Europe belittles its principles and values in order to serve its enemies.

The “European Union Treaty” (consolidated version of 2016), in its Article 2 establishes that; “The union is based on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, Rule of Law, and respect for human rights, including those rights for people belonging to minorities. These values are common to member States in a society characterized by pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity, and equality between women and men.

Amongst its purposes and objectives, in Article 3.5 of its text, the European Union Treaty highlights “The Union, in its relationships with the rest of the world, shall affirm and promote its values and interests and will contribute to the protection of its citizens. It shall contribute to peace, security, the sustainable development of the planet, solidarity and the mutual respect between the peoples, free and fair trade, the eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights…”

CELAC is defined as “an intergovernmental mechanism of regional scope that promotes the integration and development of Latin American and Caribbean countries.” CELAC’s creation began in February of 2010 in Mexico and, in December of 2011, was definitively constituted in Caracas. CELAC was an initiative of Hugo Chavez to legitimize 21st Century Socialism’s dictatorships in Latin America as an expansion of Cuba’s dictatorship.

With the passing of Chavez, CELAC went to become an instrument of the Cuban dictatorship. In January of 2020, Brazil suspended its participation in CELAC because “it became a forum for totalitarian regimes.” Upon the election of Lula da Silva as President, he decided “the full and immediate reinstatement” of Brazil to CELAC, placing Brazil’s foreign policy at the service of dictatorial regimes in Latin America.

This is the backdrop of the so-called 3rd European Union-CELAC Summit that took place in Brussels, Belgium on 17 and 18 July, promoted by Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Brazil’s President Lula da Silva, presumably with “the intention to improve the political and economic relations between both blocks in the wake of an eight-year hiatus without any meetings at the highest level.” Hidden behind this façade, however, the summit was meant to create a scheme in which Latin American dictators -seeking to “launder” their Organized Crime nature as if it were politics- could be placed at the same level as Europe’s democratic presidents.

The most important international issue of today is Russia’s invasion to Ukraine that has birthed the “First Global War.” The axis of confrontation is dictatorship against democracy and dictatorships attempt to articulate a block around Russia, with China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and all dictatorships from throughout the world backed by Para-Dictatorial governments such as; Lula’s in Brazil, Petro’s in Colombia, Lopez Obrador’s in Mexico, and Fernandez/Kirchner’s in Argentina.

The European Union has failed in the summit with CELAC because, skirting around its principles, values, and objectives, it became a scenario for Latin American dictators. Formally welcoming Diaz-Canel from Cuba, the Deputy Dictator from Venezuela, the delegation from Nicaragua, and presenting Bolivia as a democracy, despite the fact that it has over 280 political prisoners, 8,000 exiles, and whose electoral fraud in 2019 was certified by the very same European Union, was a disaster in the making.

It failed because while knowing that Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia are overt allies of Russia’s invasion to Ukraine -that is basically the War in Europe- they did not clearly condemn Russia’s invasion and surrendered the legitimacy of international peacekeeping and security as an international legal obligation, to the group of countries who are the “narco-States” that flood Europe with drugs.

It failed because it ignored the issue of human rights and welcomed Venezuela’s Deputy Dictator while the International Criminal Tribunal goes forward with its prosecution for crimes against humanity against Maduro and the European Judicial System extradites “Pollo Carvajal,” Hugo Chavez’ Chief of Intelligence, to the United States for narcotics’ trafficking and other crimes. And the same goes for issues related to the environment, or for that matter for any other issue, Europe at the service of its enemies, offering investments to the dictatorships so that they can continue backing Russia and oppressing the peoples through State terrorism.

The European Union’s failure also drags dictatorships to their failure. Dictatorships that -beyond the first moments’ photographs and images- instead of being “laundered” have remained ratified and identified, upholding the urgent need for democracies to fulfill their international obligations to help the peoples who fight for their freedom and end the dictatorships.

*Attorney & Political Scientist. Director of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy.

Translation from Spanish by Edgar L. Terrazas

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