It has been a 52-point statement designed for all tastes. It was an inevitable bet. Getting 58 countries from two continents to agree required an obvious diplomatic filigree. All in all, there was more than expected, although Venezuela and Nicaragua decided at the last minute not to sign. The fourth summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) closed with calls to strengthen multilateralism, veiled criticism of the United States policy against drug trafficking in the Caribbean, the defense of “free and transparent elections” without naming Venezuela, references to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the request to reduce global “trade tensions”, that is, Trump’s tariffs.
“58 countries have managed to reach an agreement through dialogue. This declaration demonstrates the importance of multilateral dialogue,” said António Costa, President of the European Council. The host president, Gustavo Petro, insisted on the idea. “The first message is that we deepen multilateralism, in the intention to build common solutions. In these 52 points we demonstrate that it is possible to agree in terms of differences,” he said during the presentation of the document. Uruguay, which will assume the next presidency for the time of CELAC, committed, through its chancellor, Mario Lubetkin, to developing a roadmap “to be able to advance concretely and not just in statements” with the points of the agreement.
Trump’s shadow hovered over the entire summit. The missile attacks that the Republican has been launching for two months against boats that he accuses of transporting drugs deserved a special mention in the document. “We address the importance of maritime security and regional stability in the Caribbean,” the document says, without naming the United States. Trump was also present, without being there, in the chapter referring to trade, where the blocs advocate for a “multilateral system based on rules, based on international law, that is open, transparent, inclusive, non-discriminatory and predictable, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core.” The text speaks of “trade tensions” and the need to reduce them to “facilitate international trade and improve access to markets.”
There was also a message to the White House in the environmental chapter. If Trump denies climate change, the EU and CELAC countries called for recognizing “the need for significant, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.”
The blocs also called to reform the United Nations Security Council “to make it more representative,” an old desire of Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America. And there were references to the war in Gaza, with a defense of the two-state solution, and “deep concern about the ongoing war against Ukraine, which continues to cause immense human suffering.” In the chapter dedicated to migration, the blocs agreed on “strengthening cooperation in management, including return processes,” a reference to Trump’s expulsion policy.
The declaration does not name any country, but the intention has been clear to put white on black in countries considered conflictive, such as Venezuela or Nicaragua. “We reiterate our unwavering commitment to democracy, including free, inclusive, transparent and credible elections,” the statement said.
Lula was especially harsh with his description of the regional situation. “Latin America and the Caribbean are going through a deep crisis in their integration project. We have once again become a balkanized and divided region, more focused on the outside than on the inside. We live once again under the threat of political extremism, information manipulation and organized crime. As a result, we live from meeting to meeting, full of ideas and initiatives that often never come to fruition. Our summits have become an empty ritual, with the absence of key regional leaders,” said the Brazilian.
It was a shot from Lula’s elevation to those who made the mistake this Sunday. In Latin America, there were only two important presidents, the host, Gustavo Petro, and Lula himself. Countries like Argentina, Paraguay, El Salvador or Peru sent representations of very low level, or were absent altogether, like Ecuador. Mexico, Chile and Uruguay were represented by their foreign ministers. On the European side, the absence of the President of the Commission, Úrsula von der Leyen, was the hardest blow to the organization. The most relevant presences were Costa for the Council, the president of Spain, Pedro Sánchez; the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro; and his Dutch counterpart, Dick Schoof.
Despite everything, the final document exceeded the organizers’ expectations. In any case, the meeting was also a political message. António Costa had already warned this as co-host at the beginning of the summit. “Despite having countries here with very different ideological orientations, we managed to have a joint position on the most critical issues of the moment,” he said.
Pedro Sánchez has made efforts alongside Lula to underpin the success of the summit. Both consider that this is the time to strengthen a bilateral alliance between blocs that serves as a retaining wall for Trump’s policies. Also to the advance of the extreme right in countries like Argentina, with Javier Milei, and Chile, where polls give the Republican candidate José Antonio Kast serious possibilities of victory in the first presidential round next Sunday. In Bolivia, the implosion of Evo Morales’ Movement towards Socialism (MAS) has left the left without viable alternatives after 20 years of hegemony. And Venezuela has long been no longer a regional reference for the so-called “socialism of the 21st century.”
In this atomized scenario, the commitment to multilateralism is a great challenge. “If two years ago the EU-CELAC summit was a political priority, today it is a geostrategic imperative,” said Sánchez, referring to the event that in 2023 brought together most of the top regional leaders of both blocks in Brussels. “The challenges we face – the violation of international law in Gaza or Ukraine, the attacks on free trade, the weakening of global governance – affect us all. Europe and Latin America can and must be a beacon of stability, prosperity and openness in this uncertain and risk-filled time,” said the Spanish president.
The idea of the lighthouse was recurring. In addition to Sánchez, Petro used it in his opening. Costa spoke of sending “a signal” from Santa Marta. All turns very in tune with a summit held on the shores of the Caribbean Sea.
