Community of Latin American and Caribbean States

"CELAC" redirects here. For other uses, see Celac.

Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
Logo of Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
Logo
Map of North, Central and South America indicating CELAC members:
  Member countries
  Claimed territoriesa
Official languages
Demonym(s)
  • Latin American
  • Caribbean
Membership33 member states
Leaders
Honduras Xiomara Castro
EstablishmentFebruary 23, 2010 (2010-02-23)
Population
• 2011 estimate
600,000,000
  1. Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are claimed by Argentina.

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)[a] is a regional bloc of Latin American and Caribbean states proposed on February 23, 2010, at the Rio Group–Caribbean Community Unity Summit,[1][2][3] and created on December 3, 2011, in Caracas, Venezuela, with the signing of the Declaration of Caracas.[4] It consists of 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and has five official languages.[5]

CELAC was created to deepen Latin American integration and to reduce the significant influence of the United States on the politics and economics of Latin America. It is seen as an alternative to the Organization of American States (OAS), a regional body that was founded by United States and 21 other Latin American nations in 1948 as a countermeasure to potential Soviet influence in the region.[6][7] Cuba, which was suspended from the OAS in 1962 and has since refused to rejoin, is a member of CELAC.[6]

CELAC is the successor of the Rio Group and the Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development (CALC).[8] In July 2010, CELAC selected President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez and President of Chile Sebastián Piñera, as co-chairs of the forum to draft statutes for the organization.[citation needed]


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  1. ^ "Mexidata (English) March 1, 2010". Mexidata.info. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  2. ^ Acuerdan crear Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños, Associated Press, February 23, 2010.
  3. ^ América Latina crea una OEA sin Estados Unidos, El País, February 23, 2010.
  4. ^ "L. American leaders officially sign CELAC into effect as new bloc". news.xinhuanet.com. December 4, 2011. Archived from the original on December 8, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  5. ^ Gooding, Kerri. "IVCC encouraging bilingualism and cultural integration". The Barbados Advocate. Advocate Co. Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2011. However, at present much of the integration occurs at the governmental, political and policy level as opposed to the personal, individual level, hence Tutor Jamal Henry added his voice to the plea by the Ambassador to have more persons embracing the culture and learning Spanish. CELAC comprises 33 nations making up an estimated population of 600 million people with five official languages. United and integrated the countries of CELAC can be powerful, "together [the 33 nations of CELAC] are the number one food exporter on the planet," further commented Ambassador Febres.
  6. ^ a b "Mexico gives birth to the Community of Latinamerican and Caribbean States – MercoPress". En.mercopress.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  7. ^ Thompson, Ginger; Barrionuevo, Alexei (March 2010). "uake Overshadows Clinton Tour of Region". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  8. ^ Presidentes constituyen la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños Archived March 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, EFE, February 23, 2010.