The meeting of 22 countries, three European and nineteen Latin American, closed with agreements on the fight against climate change and food insecurity, but without a joint declaration on the war in Ukraine. The meeting has also staged a rapprochement between the European Union and Latin America.
Two marathon days of plenary, bilateral, official and inter-corridor meetings culminated in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, site of the Ibero-American Summit that was held on March 24 and 25. Delegations from the 22 Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries of Europe and Latin America attended the meeting, thirteen of which were headed by their heads of government or state. In addition, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, was also present.
The summit highlighted the cement that binds this transatlantic community, while also revealing some of the cracks that plague it. However, the main commitment is to keep the Ibero-American space alive and for this purpose the date of the next Summit is already set, which will be held in November 2024 in Ecuador, the country that assumes the pro-tempore presidency of the Ibero-American Community.
The importance of relations between Latin America and the European Union played an important role in the meeting and this was made clear by the double representation by the delegation of Spain, headed by King Felipe VI and by President Pedro Sánchez, and Portugal. , with Prime Minister António Costa and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. Spain will assume the presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2023 and it is hoped that this will help to relaunch the relationship between the two regions, somewhat rusty in recent years.
On the Latin American side, it is worth noting the presence of the Argentine president, Alberto Fernández; Chilean, Gabriel Boric; Colombian, Gustavo Petro and Honduran, Xiomara Castro, the only Central American president and also the only woman in an overwhelmingly masculine panorama.
They missed the appointment Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva due to scheduling problems, since he had planned a visit to China that he had to cancel due to health problems, and Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who does not usually travel abroad, but did not even send Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro kept his attendance unknown to the point that his attendance was announced on Friday at the official opening ceremony of the Summit, but ultimately did not arrive in Santo Domingo.
The consensus of the Ibero-American Summit
Three documents achieved the agreement of all the delegations present: the Digital Rights Charter, the Food Security Strategy and the Environmental Charter, also known as the Green Pact. The first seeks to close the gap in access to technology, among others, while the second reaffirms the commitment to invest more in agriculture and take advantage of the region’s wealth to avoid hunger that afflicts millions of people.
The fight against climate change was crowned as one of the broadest consensuses, mentioned by all the presidents and foreign ministers in their speeches on Saturday.
On the other hand, the importance of the international community assisting Haiti in some way arose repeatedly, a country that has been going through a severe economic and security crisis for years and that takes on a special role by sharing an island with the Dominican Republic. Presidents such as the Costa Rican president, Rodrigo Chaves, and of course the Dominican Luis Abinader, called for international intervention to “pacify” Haiti, although Abinader insisted that the Dominican Republic would not send the Army or military forces to its neighboring country.
Migration was also a central axis of the meeting despite not being on the official agenda. However, there is also no common position beyond that it should be “ordered” while “respecting human rights.”
The disagreements of the meeting
Decisions in this type of meeting must be made by absolute consensus: any difference of opinion, no matter how small, can hinder a joint statement. In this sense, and as France 24 in Spanish reported on the same Friday, the document that was to be signed to demand a new financial architecture that would allow Latin American countries more easily access international credits, with a view to economic recovery, was finally lost. .
The delegations did not agree despite an attempt by the Argentine delegation to save it in extremis during the presidents’ luncheon on Saturday, but ultimately the representatives decided to abstain. However, the talks will continue through the Ministers of Economy of each country. Abinader stressed at the summit conclusion press conference that the disagreements “were more in form than substance.”
Another point that was left out of the declaration was the condemnation of the war in Ukraine, which some delegations were seeking. Finally, the text only included a reference to the defense of the sovereignty and integrity of the countries based on the Charter of the United Nations.
The clashes between the delegations
This type of event undoubtedly fosters cross-declarations between countries that are not on good terms and the Ibero-American Summit was no exception. One of the clashes was between Boric and Denis Moncada, Nicaraguan Foreign Minister, who came on behalf of Daniel Ortega. The Chilean president charged against his counterpart: “Ortega does not know that the country is carried in his blood and is not removed by decree.” Moncada, in his speech, asked for “respect for the Government and the people of Nicaragua.”
“Boric should not use Nicaragua as a platform to demonstrate his betrayal of the Chilean people and his dedication to the North American empire,” he stressed.
Colombia and Peru also got involved in the match. Peruvian Foreign Minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi represented President Dina Boluarte, in a difficult scenario, since some countries have reaffirmed her support for former President Pedro Castillo, in preventive detention for crimes of rebellion and conspiracy. One of those countries is Colombia: “[Castillo] should be here. The blow was given to him,” recalled the president of the Andean country.
Gervasi counterattacked in his speech: “If Castillo is not here, it is because he carried out a coup (…) Otherwise, you would have a dictator here,” he concluded.
