ALBA

ALBA or ALBA–TCP, formally the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (Spanish: Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América) or the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty (Spanish: Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América – Tratado de Comercio de los Pueblos), is an intergovernmental organization based on the idea of the social, political and economic integration of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The name "Bolivarian" refers to the ideology of Simón Bolívar, the 19th-century South American independence leader born in Caracas who wanted Hispanic America to unite as a single "Great Nation".[3]

This article is about the intergovernmental organization in Latin America and the Caribbean. For the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, see Alba. For the Gaelic channel from the BBC, see BBC Alba. For other uses, see Alba (disambiguation).
Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America

Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América  (Spanish)
Coat of arms
HeadquartersCaracas
Official languages
  • Spanish
  • English
Member states
Leaders
• Secretary General
Sacha Llorenti[1]
Establishment
• Cuba–Venezuela Agreement
14 December 2004
• People's Trade Agreement
29 April 2006
Area
• Total
2,513,337[2] km2 (970,405 sq mi)
Population
• 2008 estimate
69,513,221
• Density
27.65/km2 (71.6/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2008 estimate
• Total
$636.481 billion
• Per capita
$9,156
Currency
Time zoneUTC-4 to -6
Internet TLD

Founded initially by Cuba and Venezuela in 2004, it is associated with socialist and social democratic governments wishing to consolidate regional economic integration based on a vision of social welfare, bartering and mutual economic aid. The ten member countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Venezuela.[4] Suriname was admitted to ALBA as a guest country at a February 2012 summit. ALBA nations may conduct trade using a virtual regional currency known as the SUCRE. Venezuela and Ecuador made the first bilateral trade deal using the Sucre, instead of the US dollar, on 6 July 2010.[5] Ecuador withdrew from the group in August 2018.[6]

The name initially contained "Alternative" instead of "Alliance", but was changed on 24 June 2009.[7]

History
Late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, founder of ALBA

The agreement was proposed by the government of Venezuela, led by Hugo Chávez[8] as an alternative to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA or ALCA in Spanish, an agreement proposed by the United States) that had been opposed by some countries in Latin America.

This Cuba–Venezuela Agreement,[9] signed on 14 December 2004, by Presidents Chávez and Fidel Castro, was aimed at the exchange of medical and educational resources and petroleum between the two nations. Venezuela began to deliver about 96,000 barrels of oil per day from its state-owned oil company, PDVSA, to Cuba at very favorable prices. In exchange, Cuba sent 20,000 state-employed medical staff and thousands of teachers to Venezuela's poorest states. The agreement also made it possible for Venezuelans to travel to Cuba for specialized medical care, free of charge.[10][11]

When it was launched in 2004, ALBA had only two member states, Venezuela and Cuba.[11][12] Subsequently, a number of other Latin American and Caribbean nations entered into this 'Peoples' Trade Agreement' (Spanish: Tratado de Comercio de los Pueblos, or TCP), which aims to implement the principles of ALBA. Bolivia under Evo Morales joined in 2006, Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega in 2007, and Ecuador under Rafael Correa in 2009. Honduras, under Manuel Zelaya, joined in 2008, but withdrew in 2010 after the 2009 Honduran coup d'état. The Caribbean nations Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia also joined.

Jamaica, at the invitation of Chávez,[13] and Mexico, at the invitation of Ortega,[14] were invited to join the ALBA countries. Chávez also invited the countries of Central America to join ALBA,[15] and invited Argentina to use SUCRE, the currency of this organization.[16] Vietnam has been invited to join as an observer.[17] In the eleventh Summit of ALBA in February 2012, Suriname, St. Lucia and Haiti requested admission to the organization. Haiti was granted the special status of permanent member and the other two countries were named special members, while awaiting their full incorporation.[11]

Chávez was honored posthumously by the nine member countries of the group and special guests Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Suriname, Guyana and Haiti at the group's 12th Presidential Summit in Guayaquil, Ecuador.[18]

Ecuador withdrew from ALBA in August 2018.[19] Bolivia's interim government withdrew in November 2019 during the political crisis,[20] but the newly elected government of Luis Arce rejoined following the 2020 Bolivian general election.[21]

Common currency

In October 2009, ALBA leaders agreed at a summit in Bolivia to create a common regional currency. "The document is approved," said Bolivian President Evo Morales, the summit host. President Hugo Chávez (Venezuela) announced "The sucre [is] an autonomous and sovereign monetary system that will be agreed upon today so that it can be implemented in 2010."[22] As of 2015, the virtual currency is being used to compensate trade between Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and especially Ecuador and Venezuela.[11]

Summits of heads of state and government
Summit
 Date
 Location
 Country
 Decisions
I Ordinary14 December 2004Havana Cuba Founding summit of ALBA. Cuba-Venezuela Agreement signed by presidents Hugo Chávez and
Fidel Castro.
II Ordinary27–28 April 2005Havana Cuba Attended by presidents Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.
III Ordinary29 April 2006Havana Cuba Attended by presidents Hugo Chávez, Fidel Castro and Evo Morales from Bolivia,
who joins the group. The TCP is signed.
IV Ordinary10 January 2007Managua Nicaragua Meeting coinciding with inauguration as president of Nicaragua of Daniel Ortega, who announces
the entry in the bloc as fourth country member.
V Ordinary28–29 April 2007Barquisimeto Venezuela
VI Ordinary24–26 January 2008Caracas Venezuela Dominica joins the bloc.
I Extraordinary22 April 2008Caracas Venezuela
II Extraordinary25 August 2008Tegucigalpa Honduras Honduras joins the bloc.
III Extraordinary26 November 2008Caracas Venezuela
IV Extraordinary2 February 2009Caracas Venezuela Celebration of the tenth anniversary of Bolivarian Revolution.
V Extraordinary16–17 April 2009Cumaná Venezuela
VI Extraordinary24 June 2009Maracay Venezuela Antigua and Barbuda, Ecuador and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join the bloc.
VII Extraordinary29 June 2009Managua Nicaragua Condemnation of the coup d'etat in Honduras and demand of restoration of deposed president
Manuel Zelaya.
VII Ordinary16–17 October 2009Cochabamba Bolivia The Unified System for Regional Compensation (SUCRE) is adopted.
VIII Ordinary13–14 December 2009Havana Cuba Celebration of the fifth anniversary of the bloc.
IX Ordinary19 April 2010Caracas Venezuela Honduras had left the group.[23]
X Ordinary25 June 2010Otavalo Ecuador
XI Ordinary4–5 February 2012Caracas Venezuela
XII Ordinary30 July 2013Guayaquil Ecuador Saint Lucia joins the bloc.
VIII Extraordinary20 October 2014Havana Cuba Summit to deal with the Ebola crisis.
XIII Ordinary14 December 2014Havana Cuba Grenada and Saint Kitts and Nevis join the bloc. Celebration of the tenth anniversary of the bloc.
IX Extraordinary17 March 2015Caracas Venezuela
XIV Ordinary5 March 2017Caracas Venezuela
XV Ordinary5 March 2018Caracas Venezuela
XVI Ordinary14 December 2018[24] Havana Cuba
XVII Ordinary14 December 2019[25][26] Havana Cuba Celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of the bloc.
XVIII Ordinary14 December 2020[27][28] videoconference Celebration of the sixteenth anniversary of the bloc and of the rejoining of Bolivia into it.

Membership
Main article: Member states of ALBA

Full members
Common name
 Official name
 Join date
 Population
 Area (km²)
 E.E.Z + Area (km²)
 GDP PPP (US$ bn)
 Capital
 Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda 24 June 2009 97,118 442 110,531 1.575 St. John's
 Bolivia Plurinational State of Bolivia 29 April 2006 9,119,152 1,098,581 50.904 La Paz
 Cuba Republic of Cuba 14 December 2004 11,451,652 110,861 460,637 114.100 Havana
 Dominica Commonwealth of Dominica 20 January 2008 72,660 754 29,736 0.977 Roseau
 Grenada[4][29] Grenada 14 December 2014 111,454 348.5 27,770 1.467 St. George's
 Nicaragua Republic of Nicaragua 11 January 2007[30] 6,466,199 129,495 254,254 18.878 Managua
 Saint Kitts and Nevis[4][31] Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis 14 December 2014 54,961 261 10,235 1.087 Basseterre
 Saint Lucia Saint Lucia 20 July 2013 180,870 617 16,156 2.101 Castries
 St. Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 24 June 2009 120,000 389 36,691 1.259 Kingstown
 Venezuela Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 14 December 2004 28,199,825 916,445 1,387,952 374.111 Caracas
ALBA–TCP totals 10 countries 46,166,389 1,159,612.5 2,333,962 515.555

Observer members
Common name Official name Population Capital
 Haiti Republic of Haiti 10,847,334 Port-au-Prince
 Iran Islamic Republic of Iran 81,672,300 Tehran
 Syria Syrian Arab Republic 18,284,407 Damascus

Former members
Common name Official name Join year Withdrawal year Population Capital
 Honduras Republic of Honduras 2008 2010 9,112,867 Tegucigalpa
 Ecuador Republic of Ecuador 2009 2018 16,385,068 Quito

In addition, Suriname is a "special guest member" that intends to become a full member.[32]

Other ALBA initiatives
XIV ALBA-TCP summit, 2017

PetroCaribe

Based on the earlier San José Accords (1980) and Caracas Energy Accords (2000) between Venezuela and a number of Caribbean states, Petrocaribe was founded in 2005 to facilitate oil trade under a concessionary financial agreement. The initiative has provided the Caribbean member states with important hydrocarbon resources, which many do not possess on their territories, in exchange for services and goods. In the case of Cuba, a nation largely deprived of oil since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Petrocaribe has provided oil in exchange for medical doctors.[33]

TeleSUR

Launched in 2005, TeleSUR is a media conglomerate that provides news and current affairs broadcasts throughout the ALBA bloc. The program is based on an internet based television channel and is a cooperative effort between the governments of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

PETROSUR

PETROSUR is an inter-governmental energy alliance between Venezuelan PDVSA, Argentinean YPF, and Brazilian Petrobras nationalized oil companies. The goal of this initiative is to provide funding for social welfare programs within these nations.

Criticism

In August 2013, BBC News stated that "Alba consists of one oil-rich nation and various minnows wishing to benefit from its largesse" and that "there is little chance of the rhetoric becoming reality any time soon".[34] As the crisis in Bolivarian Venezuela began, President Nicolás Maduro called on other ALBA members to begin contributing, though the smaller members distanced themselves from the proposal since they only sought the benefits from Venezuela.[34]

During the 2017 Venezuelan protests, Williams Dávila, President of the MERCOSUR Committee of International Affairs, Interregional and Strategic Planning, criticized ALBA, stating that "populism always attacks the OAS because it is composed of sovereign states, but the states that are part of ALBA act as the vassal countries of Cuba."[35]

In July 2018, President Lenín Moreno of Ecuador distanced himself from ALBA, stating that the organization "has not worked for a while."[36] In August 2018, Ecuador officially withdrew from ALBA.

Karen Longaric, appointed as foreign minister by Jeanine Áñez's interim government, announced the formal departure from the country of ALBA in November 2019 over "interference" in Bolivia's political crisis.[37]

See also

References
  1. "Sacha Llorenti es elegido por unanimidad como el nuevo secretario general del ALBA-TCP". ABI (in Spanish). 14 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  2. The total area of ALBA reaches 5,057,735 km² if the maritime areas is included .
  3. "Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America - international organization". Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  4. "Declaration of the ALBA-TCP XIII Summit and commemoration of its tenth anniversary, December 14, 2014 - ALBA TCP". Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  5. venezuelanalysis, 7 July 2010, Venezuela Pays for First ALBA Trade with Ecuador in New Regional Currency
  6. "Ecuador leaves Venezuelan-run regional alliance". AP NEWS. 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  7. "ALBA pasa a ser Alianza Bolivariana de los Pueblos de América" (in Spanish). Venezolana de Televisión. June 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  8. Arana, Marie. "Opinion - Bolívar, Latin America's Go-To Hero". Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2005-11-04. Retrieved 2005-12-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) initial Cuba-Venezuela TCP
  10. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CubaVenezuela-Alliance-Piccone-Trinkunas.pdf
  11. Inc, IBP (20 March 2009). Latin America Energy Policy and Regulations Handbook Volume 1 Strategic Information and Programs. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781438728360. Retrieved 24 August 2018 – via Google Books.
  12. Monthly Review, 2 July 2008, ALBA: Creating a Regional Alternative to Neo-liberalism?
  13. "Cuba Revolución: Chávez invita a Jamaica a sumarse al ALBA". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  14. Diario, El Nuevo. "El Nuevo Diario". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  15. (ABN), Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias. "Chávez invitó a toda Centroamérica a unirse al ALBA". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  16. "Chávez invita a Argentina a sumarse a la moneda virtual sucre - Radio La Primerísima". Archived from the original on 2016-05-27. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  17. "Venezuela invita a Vietnam a sumarse al ALBA como observador". Archived from the original on July 20, 2014.
  18. "Twelfth ALBA Presidential Summit Takes Place in Ecuador". americasquarterly.org. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  19. "Ecuador leaves Venezuelan-run regional alliance". AP NEWS. Associated Press. 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  20. "Bolivia rompe relaciones con Venezuela y se retira de la Alianza Bolivariana ALBA | DW | 15.11.2019". Deutsche Welle (in Spanish). 15 November 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  21. "Bolivia reanuda su participación en Unasur, Celac y Alba". France 24. 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  22. "Bolivia summit adopts new currency". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  23. "Honduras se retira de Alba". Honduras se retira de Alba.
  24. Inicia hoy XVI Cumbre del ALBA-TCP en La Habana. In: albatcp.cubaminrex.cu 12/14/2018.
  25. "17th Summit of ALBA-TCP in Cuba focuses on regional situation". Prensa Latina. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  26. "ALBA-TCP: primer frente de integración, afirma declaración de cumbre". Prensa Latina (in Spanish). 14 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  27. "ALBA-TCP celebra su 16 aniversario vía videoconferencia con presidentes de países miembros". ABI (in Spanish). 13 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  28. "ALBA-TCP ratifica compromiso con la integración regional". Prensa Latina (in Spanish). 14 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  29. "Granada - ALBA TCP". Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  30. "Nicaragua celebra 14 años de solidaridad y respeto como parte del ALBA-TCP". La Voz del Sandinismo (in Spanish). 11 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  31. "San Cristóbal y Nieves - ALBA TCP". Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  32. El Universal, 6 February 2012, ALBA summit ends with entry of guest countries
  33. Cederlöf, Gustav; Kingsbury, Donald V. (2019). "On PetroCaribe: Petropolitics, Energopower, and Post-Neoliberal Development in the Caribbean Energy Region". Political Geography. 72: 124–133. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2019.04.006.
  34. Plummer, Robert (1 August 2013). "Alba alliance ambitions lay bare Latin trade confusion". BBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  35. "Dávila: Víctimas de uso armas prohibidas en manifestaciones están bajo protección del derecho internacional". La Patilla (in Spanish). 14 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  36. "Lenin Moreno ordenó a la UNASUR desalojar edificio en Ecuador". La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  37. "La política internacional de Añez: anunció la salida de Bolivia del Alba, de la Unasur y rompió relaciones con Venezuela". Latinomerica Piensa (in Spanish). 15 November 2019.
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