Editorial
A spectre haunts all high-level consultations held in this hemisphere, consultations such as the fifteenth Summit of the Rio Group which met last weekend in Santiago, Chile. No, not a spectre but a shadow, the over-arching presence of the USA, whether actually represented at the meeting or not.
Stabroek News
August 22, 2001
The Rio Group was established to articulate and assert a distinct Latin American persona and point of view, separate from the USA, often indeed in contradiction to US views.
The USA is a member of the regional hemispheric organisation, the OAS and its role is dominant and pervasive. The attempt some years ago to create a separate Latin American system (SELA) which excluded the USA but included Cuba persists as a Secretariat but signifies little more.
The Rio Group is, on the other hand, a remarkably successful mechanism for the pursuit of co-ordinated political action by Latin American States. It came about as a by product of joint action by a few states aimed at a very specific objective namely the settlement of the civil wars then raging in Central America. The governments of Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela organised them selves in l983, into the so called Contadora group to seek peaceful solutions to the Central American conflicts. Two years later in Lima, Peru a support group of another four states Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay was formed to bolster the Contadora process. Bolstering was necessary as the Contadora process had attracted from the start the strong hostility of the Reagan administration who saw Central America as the theatre surrogate wars between the Super Powers. No state or group of states should thwart the US objective of destroying international communism in this region. However, President George Bush when he succeeded Reagan was better disposed to the Contadora process which in the end led to democratic elections in Nicaragua and the negotiated settlement of the civil war in El Salvador.
It was those eight states (Contadora and the Support Group) meeting in l986 in Rio de Janeiro (hence the name) which decided to establish themselves as a Permanent Mechanism of Political Consultation and Co-operation. The Presidents of the group have since met each year. There have also been meetings of Foreign Ministers and other Ministers. At first membership was restricted to mainland Latin America. However, the Central American states and the Caribbean Community were invited to be represented at each summit by one State from each region.
More recently, the Central American States together with the Dominican Republic have become full members. This is an option which it is understood is also open to the Caricom States but at present Caricom is still represented by one state. Guyana is now the Caricom representative and that was why President Jagdeo together with his Foreign Minister Insanally were in Santiago, Chile last week-end.
The Rio agenda over the fifteen years of its existence has covered a wide range but there are recurrent central concerns. The Group has sought to defuse intra-regional conflicts as for example, over the candidate for the Latin American seat if the permanent membership of the Security Council is enlarged.
Another major preoccupation, has been with US proposals for the Free Trade Area of the Americas. While viewing the proposals with some suspicion the Rio Group has sought to indigenise it. The reform of the UN, in particular the Security Council, and the OAS has been given high priority.
There has been repeated strong condemnation of the US legislation, the Helms Burton Act, which provided for US sanctions against foreign companies that trade with Cuba.
The Rio Group has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening representative democracy as a system of government for the region. Consequently, Cuba has been requested to carry out reforms to realise democracy. The Group has at several summits likewise given particular attention to measures to eradicate corruption, drugs, smuggling and terrorism.
In the assertion of its own identity the Rio Group has practiced externally a "balancing" diplomacy. To this end the Group has institutionalised annual ministerial meetings with the European Union, which alternate between Europe and Latin America.
At the just concluded summit the agenda was dominated by the need to mobilise support to bail Argentina out of recession. As the South East Asian recent experience has shown such economic crises are "contagious" and can spread rapidly. In the case of Argentina the crisis will subject the Mercosul common market arrangements to unbearable strain, strongly affecting Brazil and perhaps engulfing weaker states. The Mexican President would almost certainly have told his colleagues that what is needed are measures similar to the Clinton package which quickly bailed out Mexico - an event which underlines dramatically the limits of separate Latin American action!
Unlike the Council of Europe and the European Political Co-operation mechanism, and unlike also on a different scale the Caricom Heads of Government Conference and Cofcor, the Caricom institution for external relations, the Rio Group is not part of the tight institutional framework of an integration grouping. It is so to speak free floating. However, a group which includes states of the order of Mexico, Brazil Argentina, Venezuela and Chile clearly is a powerful group capable of influencing not only the hemispheric system but the evolution of global international relations. It is to be seen whether Rio's solidarity will avail in mobilising support especially US support for Argentina.
Yet it is a moot question whether the Caricom States should like the Central American States join the Rio Group. The Caricom states have distinctive problems including small size, mostly islands, the heritage of the plantation economy and a different colonial experience. There is the real risk that their problems might be bypassed in an overwhelmingly Latin American forum.
Anyway it is good that Guyana was in Santiago. It is good for Guyana's security for it to be seen to be in good standing in the big league.