A Caribbean and Latin American alliance

by Nilio Gumbs 26.MAR.10

The decision by 32 Latin American and Caribbean countries to create a new grouping in the Americas to compete with the Organization of American States is a direct challenge to United States hegemony and an attempt by nations in the hemisphere to rid themselves of American dominance and institutions that many deem advocate that country’s interest.{{more}}

The decision to exclude the United States and Canada shows that Latin American countries are seeking to reassert their true independence which for too long has been subverted by the wishes of the United States.

However, Caribbean nations partaking in any perceived front to the United States can put the region in a compromising position. Like it or not, Caribbean nations have little or no clout diplomatically, and are highly aid dependent economies. Hence, the region should not be to quick to join such a grouping without weighing all the possible outcomes.

It is easy to argue that a country is independent and has the right to choose which organization and countries to join or have diplomatic relations with. But reality speaks of something quite different.

Jamaica’s refusal to handover a gang leader to the United States has supposedly led to retaliation by the United States in revoking the passport of one of Jamaica’s wealthiest individuals.

At the recently held summit in Cancun, Caribbean countries, along with those from Latin America, expressed solidarity with Argentina and its rights to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

Have Caribbean governments examined the situation prior to extending their support to Argentina? Caribbean countries need to look at the issue objectively in the dispute between Britain and Argentina, and not just take an anti-colonial position based on our historical past. The British position is to let the people of The Falklands decide in a referendum who they choose to be with! They voted to remain with Britain.

Chavez also made an outburst on the English Queen at the same summit over the Falklands issue. Even though there is no love lost with the Queen, you may have to put yourself in an Englishman’s position when such comments are made. It is said you are known by the company you keep.

Caribbean countries should be mindful of such outbursts by Hugo Chavez, given the fact that Britain is one of the big four of the European Union. The European Union provides significant budgetary support for these small island economies especially on the capital side. The old adage says ‘you can’t bite the hand that feeds you’.

Some Caribbean leaders do let their ideological position get in the way of reality, jeopardizing the economic future of these islands in the process.

As sovereign nations, a country has the right to have diplomatic relations with any other country they choose. However, that sovereignty should be used responsibly when everything is stacked against small island states as ours.

Our leaders need to realize that the fundamentals in the Caribbean are pretty different from those of Latin America.

They should not ignore the limitation of our size and economies. The smallest Latin American country is the Dominican Republic, which is four times the size of Jamaica.

The structural base of Caribbean and Latin American economies is different. They are more industrialized and diversified than us. They are more agrarian, while Caribbean islands are virtually dependent on tourism. The smallest population is that of Uruguay, which is still larger than that of Jamaica.

Should Caribbean countries ignore their historical connection with Britain, United States and Canada? The region is historically connected to Britain, the United States and Canada by language, trade and migration. Those are major drivers which Latin American countries cannot replace.

The reality is that Caribbean countries are small vulnerable economies that still rely on our main trading partners as the main source of our exports and tourist arrivals.

It may just be folly to think that such a new organization can usurp the importance and dominance of the United States. What are we to gain from any convergence or re-alignment with left-leaning Latin America? It may just be ideological hubris.

The geo-political landscape has changed from the early 1980s for small island states such as Grenada and its surrogate Cuba which could have relied on the Soviet Union for financial and technical assistance. The Soviet Union easily filled the vacuum when economic pressure is applied the United States. In a uni-polar world there are no alternatives to the United States at present.

Being a member of some Latin American based organizations does not necessarily mean that Latin American countries would be different or act unlike the United States. The Windward islands would remember that it was the United along with Ecuador which sponsored the complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the European Union preferential treatment of African, Caribbean and Pacific states bananas.

Today, Ecuador is a member of ALBA. Rafael Correa, its leader, espouses leftist rhetoric about solidarity among developing countries. However, Ecuador has not come to the assistance of Windward Island Bananas. The winner takes it all!