Intergovernmental organization of Latin American and Caribbean states
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 television channel from the BBC, see BBC Alba. For other uses, see Alba (disambiguation).
Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty
Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América – Tratado de Comercio de los Pueblos(Spanish)
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 political and economic integration of Latin American and Caribbean countries.
This Cuba–Venezuela Agreement,[7] 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.[8][9][self-published source?]
When it was launched in 2004, ALBA had only two member states, Venezuela and Cuba.[9][10] 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.[11] The Caribbean nations Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia also joined.[12]
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.[16] In the 11th Summit of ALBA in February 2012, Suriname, Saint 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.[9]
In July 2013, 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.[17]
In December 2014, Grenada and Saint Kitts and Nevis were accepted as full members during the 13th Summit of the Alliance, which occurred in Havana, Cuba.[18]
In October 2009, ALBA leaders agreed at a summit in Bolivia to create a virtual currency, named the SUCRE. "The document is approved," said Bolivian President Evo Morales, the summit host. President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez announced "The sucre [is] an autonomous and sovereign monetary system that will be agreed upon today so that it can be implemented in 2010."[24] As of 2015, the virtual currency is being used to compensate trade between Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and especially Ecuador and Venezuela.[9]
A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships between various multinational organizations in the Americasv • d • eXIV 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.[42]
Other energy initiatives
As part of Cuba's efforts to spread its Energy Revolution campaign through ALBA, Cuban social workers traveled to 11 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America to help develop energy efficiency projects in those countries.[43]: 294
TeleSUR
Launched in 2005, TeleSUR is a media network that provides news and current affairs broadcasts throughout the ALBA bloc. The network has 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.[citation needed]
Criticism
In July 2018, President Lenín Moreno of Ecuador distanced himself from ALBA, stating that the organization "has not worked for a while."[44] In August 2018, Ecuador officially withdrew from ALBA.[citation needed]
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