Bolivia proposes bolstering CELAC to replace OAS

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Within the framework of the 6th Summit of Heads of State of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), to be held on Saturday, September 18, Bolivia intends to propose strengthening the regional body as an alternative to the Organization of American States (OAS).

According to Bolivia’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) Diego Pary, Bolivian president Luis Arce will state his position on the need for an international organization, a CELAC capable of addressing common issues among member states and of dialoguing with other international organizations.

Pary said in an interview that Latin America and the Caribbean needs a CELAC powerful enough for dialogue, negotiation and articulation with other regions.

“The OAS has lost all its value, it has neither the moral authority, nor even the representativeness of the States to do the work that falls to the CELAC,” stressed the Bolivian ambassador to the United Nations.

Bolivian ambassador to Mexico Jorge Crespo announced that Mexican president Andrés López Obrador will propose this initiative, which he himself presented at the 21st meeting of CELAC Foreign Ministers, held on July 24, to the bloc’s leaders for their consideration.

“I believe that this OAS is no longer functional even for the United States. Mr. Almagro (secretary general) is so discredited that his leadership of the organization is no longer convenient for the United States,” he said.

Next Saturday, Mexico will host the CELAC Summit, an event to which 31 of the region’s 33 member countries have confirmed their attendance.

This economic, political and social body, formed in 2010 by prominent left-wing political leaders, promotes dialogue and consensus-building in the Latin American and Caribbean integration process. Brazil withdrew from CELAC in January 2020, under President Jair Bolsonaro.