Bolivarian Alliance for America

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Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America
ALBA

emblem
 

Member States
Organization type regional economic cooperation
Seat of the organs Caracas , VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela 
Member States
Official and working languages

English , Spanish

surface 2,513,337 km²
population 69,513,221
Population density 28 inhabitants per km²
gross domestic product $ 573,753 million
Gross domestic product per inhabitant $ 8253.87
founding

December 14, 2004

Currencies

nationally different, common accounting currency SUCRE

 

The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America - Trade Treaty of the Peoples ( Spanish: Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América - Tratado de Comercio de los Pueblos , ALBA-TCP ) is an economic and political alliance of currently nine states in Latin America and the Caribbean . The alliance was originally intended to be an alternative to the United States' planned all-American free trade zone ALCA . After 2017, the alliance's activities were limited to medical aid programs or literacy programs. When Ecuador left in 2018, Lenín Moreno said that ALBA had not been working for a while.

Member States

Members are:

Members of the ALBA were:

The ALBA observers are:

Principles

The aim of the ALBA is to become more independent from the USA and Europe in Latin America and the Caribbean through economic cooperation.

For this purpose, special cooperation agreements between the states, e.g. B. in the energy sector. The trading partner Venezuela to supplies of crude oil as barter to pay with goods or services. An independent free trade zone is not planned under the ALBA.

structure

ALBA structure de.svg

history

Hugo Chávez first presented the idea of ​​an alternative to the US- planned all-American free trade zone ALCA , which would have been dominated by the US, in December 2001 at the III. Summit meeting of Caribbean heads of state and government on Isla Margarita in Venezuela. The first agreement within the framework of ALBA ( Alternativa Bolivariana para los pueblos de Nuestra América ) was concluded between Venezuela and Cuba on December 14, 2004 and included a. the delivery of crude oil to Cuba, paid for by sending Cuban doctors to Venezuela, as well as the construction of the submarine cable ALBA-1 . On April 29, 2006, Bolivia acceded to the agreement by signing the Peoples' Trade Treaty . The contracts concluded between Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia include: a. Help set up a national Bolivian airline and support Bolivian literacy and health care programs . Venezuela and Cuba also committed to buying Bolivian soybeans in order to mitigate the negative impact of the free trade agreements that Peru and Colombia had signed with the US for Bolivia .

This was followed by: Nicaragua (March 2007), Dominica (January 2008), Honduras (August 2008) and in June 2009 Ecuador, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In June 2009 the new name Alianza Bolivariana para los pueblos de Nuestra América was adopted for the alliance. The abbreviation Alba is also the Spanish name for dawn .

2007

In February 2007, the Prime Ministers of Antigua and Barbuda , Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines signed a political declaration in support of the ALBA.

On 27 March 2007 the Nicaraguan parliament ratified the accession of Nicaragua for ALBA.

The 5th ALBA summit took place on April 28 and 29, 2007 in Barquisimeto , Venezuela . Participants were u. a. Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Carlos Lage (Cuba) as deputies for Fidel Castro , Evo Morales (Bolivia) and Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua). The heads of state of the Caribbean states of Haiti , Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were also present. Uruguay and Ecuador also sent delegations.

Cooperation agreements were concluded at this summit, particularly in the energy sector. Venezuela was ready to supply the other countries of the alliance with crude oil, at a price discount of up to 50 percent compared to the world market price . In addition, new refineries are to be built or existing ones expanded in Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia, Cuba and Dominica .

In the political declarations, the heads of state and government support Venezuela's right to make sovereign decisions on the use of the electromagnetic spectrum and to that extent not to renew the license of the RCTV broadcaster .

In addition, the member countries of the ALBA agreed to withdraw from the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes , an organization of the World Bank , at the suggestion of Bolivia .

Fixed structures were created for the ALBA for the first time in 2007: a presidential council, a council of foreign ministers, numerous working groups, a permanent commission and an assembly of social movements .

During a visit by Chavez to Tehran in July 2007 , it was announced that Iran would in future take part in the ALBA as an observer.

2008

At the 6th ALBA summit, which took place in Caracas from January 24th to 26th, 2008, the island state of Dominica joined the community. The first projects on the small island were also approved. At this meeting, a separate development bank , the Banco del ALBA , was founded to promote the development of the member countries. It is intended to finance the transnational companies created within the framework of the ALBA, to contribute to the synchronization of the savings of the ALBA countries, to promote the development of an internal market for the alliance of states and to enable a higher investment volume. The bank is administered on two levels: by a Council of Ministers, on which the member states are represented, and by an Executive Committee, whose presidency rotates. According to the agreement, around 53 million people will benefit from social and productive projects that are financed by the bank. The statute of the bank was adopted in Caracas at the end of March 2008. On this occasion it was also decided that 10 social projects and 5 companies should be financed in a first phase. The starting capital is $ 2 billion. The bank is headquartered in Caracas and has a branch in Havana .

On August 25, 2008, Honduras joined the ALBA. The accession was ratified on October 9, 2008 by the Honduran parliament. The beneficiaries of the accession were the small Honduran farmers for whom Venezuela granted loans of $ 30 million and supplied 100 tractors. Venezuela also supported the Honduran programs in education, health care and housing.

Against the background of the financial crisis from 2007 , the member states of the alliance decided on November 26, 2008 at their third summit to establish their own currency zone with a common currency, the SUCRE , in order to achieve greater independence from the international financial markets and to avoid crises and protect their consequences. A joint fund for the stabilization of money reserves and a long-term, continuous investment policy should also be set up within this framework.

2009

Immediately before the America Summit in April 2009 in the Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago, the member states of the ALBA met in Cumaná for a special summit. The joint positions were discussed, including above all the invitation of Cuba to future summits and the re-admission of this country to the Organization of American States. The establishment of the regional currency SUCRE was also officially decided. Ecuador and Paraguay participated as observers.

On the VI. At the summit meeting in Maracay in June 2009 , the states of Ecuador , Antigua and Barbuda and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were accepted as new members. It was decided to replace the word Alternativa with the word Alianza in the name of the organization .

On December 15, 2009, President Roberto Micheletti announced that Honduras would leave the ALBA after the coup . The next day he submitted the relevant decree to the country's Congress for approval. Parliament ratified the withdrawal on January 12, 2010.

2010

Since January 27, 2010, the regional currency SUCRE has existed as an intergovernmental currency unit in order to simplify economic integrity. The first financial transactions in this currency were first completed on February 3, 2010. Venezuela had received 108,000 SUCRE from Cuba for exporting rice. The exchange rate was set at 1.25 US dollars per SUCRE.

2012

At the eleventh regular ALBA summit on February 5, 2012, the heads of state and government of the member states unanimously passed a resolution through which Santa Lucia and Surinam begin the process of gaining full membership in the Petrocaribe , in order to subsequently become full members of the ALBA. Just like Haiti, they are now considered "Guest of Honor Members".

Crisis since 2014

After the death of Hugo Chávez at the beginning of 2013 and with the collapse in oil prices since 2014 and the ensuing economic crisis in Venezuela, the central state for ALBA, the importance of the alliance increasingly waned. Important projects are being pushed forward very slowly, if at all, and the organization's website is only updated sporadically. The use of the accounting currency SUCRE has been trending downwards since 2013. Instead of organizing their own regular summits, since 2012 representatives have at most taken part in events of CELAC and other regional organizations.

Ecuador left the organization in August 2018. Bolivia left in November 2019.

literature

  • Harris, David; Azzi, Diego (2006): Venezuela's answer to “free trade”. The Bolivarian alternative for the Americas. Focus on the Global South. (Occasional Paper, 3). Available online at http://www.focusweb.org/pdf/alba-book.pdf .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. LENIN MORENO ORDENÓ A LA UNASUR DESALOJAR EDIFICIO EN ECUADOR , La Prensa Lara, 6 July 2018
  2. Micheletti's government left the ALBA, but the ALBA does not recognize either Roberto Micheletti or his successor Porfirio Lobo Sosa . Projects will continue to be funded. De facto, however, Honduras is no longer a member. See Bolivarian Alliance: ALBA means Dawn , Young World , June 24, 2010.
  3. teleSUR / LJS: ALBA Boss Chastizes Ecuador For Abandoning Regional Bloc . ( telesurtv.net [accessed October 20, 2018]).
  4. http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl2418/stories/20070921504105100.htm
  5. ACUERDO ENTRE EL PRESIDENTE DE LA REPÚBLICA BOLIVARIANA DE VENEZUELA Y EL PRESIDENTE DEL CONSEJO DE ESTADO DE CUBA, PARA LA APLICACIÓN DE LA ALTERNATIVA BOLIVARIANA PARA LAS AMÉRICAS. (No longer available online.) ALBA portal, archived from the original on October 2, 2006 ; Retrieved November 16, 2008 (Spanish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.alternativabolivariana.org
  6. Venezuelanalysis.com: ALBA Summit Creates New Model for Latin American Integration , April 30, 2007
  7. Young World: Strengthened Unity , May 2, 2007
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TCI2TNqfeU
  9. teleSUR: Inaugurada en Cuba primera sede del Banco del Alba ( Memento of the original of April 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. April 10, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.telesurtv.net
  10. ^ Gustavo Hernández: Banco del ALBA y el financiamiento al desarrollo. (pdf; 196 kB) (No longer available online.) SELA , June 20, 2008, archived from the original on December 14, 2010 ; Retrieved June 4, 2009 (Spanish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sela.org
  11. RedGlobe: Honduras ratifies ALBA accession , October 10, 2008
  12. M. Daniljuk: ALBA states decide measures against crisis. amerika21.de, November 27, 2008, accessed November 28, 2008 .
  13. ^ H. Neuber: ALBA countries meet in Venezuela. amerika21.de, April 16, 2008, accessed April 30, 2008 .
  14. Prensa Presidencial de Venezuela: CUMBRE DEL ALBA FINALIZÓ CON ACUERDOS EN ENERGÍA, CULTURA Y ALIMENTOS (THE SUMMIT OF THE ALBA CLOSED WITH AGREEMENTS ON ENERGY, CULTURE AND ALIMENTARY MATTERS). (No longer available online.) ALBA portal, April 17, 2009, archived from the original on June 11, 2007 ; Retrieved June 5, 2009 (Spanish, unknown language, English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.alternativabolivariana.org
  15. ^ VI Cumbre Extraordinaria de la ALBA demand fin de bloqueo a Cuba. (No longer available online.) TeleSUR, archived from the original on July 3, 2009 ; Retrieved June 25, 2009 (Spanish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.telesurtv.net
  16. El Parlamento de Honduras ratifica la salida de la ALBA  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , EFE of January 13, 2010@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / es.noticias.yahoo.com  
  17. ↑ http:// Amerika21.de/nachrichten/inhalt/2010/feb/sucre-624353-geschaeft/
  18. Archive link ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.redglobe.de
  19. Development of SUCRE 2010-2014 ( Memento of the original from June 18, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sucrealba.org
  20. teleSUR / LJS: ALBA Boss Chastizes Ecuador For Abandoning Regional Bloc . ( telesurtv.net [accessed October 20, 2018]).