THE ALPHABET SOUP OF REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA

When following current events in Latin America, it’s easy to confuse the jumble of acronyms and abbreviations of the region’s multilateral organizations. Given the proliferation of so many organizations, summits, and integration efforts over the past few decades, some have questioned which groups can have a real impact, especially those with conflicting or overlapping goals. With an eye on regional trade and tariffs, some groups hope to eventually expand their reach to achieve common markets in Latin America. Countries bordering the Pacific are moving to pursue closer alliances with Asian trade partners, some organizations seek to deepen Latin American integration, and others hope to coordinate policy and common.

• Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Headquarters located in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
• Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración, or the Latin American Inegration Association (ALADI)
• Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América or the Bolivian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA)
• The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat in Singapore
• The Andean Community (CAN) Headquarters in Lima, Peru
• Caribbean Community CARICOM) Headquarters in Georgetown,  Guyana
• Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)
• Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) Secretariat in Montevideo, Uruguay
• Organization of American States (OAS) Headquarters in Washington DC
• Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) Headquarters in Madrid, Spain
• Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Castries, Saint Lucia
• Pacific Alliance
• Rio Group
• Latin American and the Caribbean Economic System (SELA) Headquarters in Caracas
• Central American Integration System (SICA) Headquarters in El Salvador
• UNASUR Umbrella Organization for MERCOSUR and the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), the Union of South American Nations  (Headquarters in Quito, Ecuador)
• UNASUR South American Parliament Cochabamba, Bolivia

A critical determinant leading up to CELAC’s and ALBA’s creation was to distance its members from Washington’s historical influence over the inter-American system and to create alternatives to the Organization of American States. Neither the United States nor Canada were invited to join CELAC. The 2012 Arab World-South America summit in Peru and the 2013 CELAC-European Union summit in Chile exemplify Latin America’s general desire to improve commercial ties with other global regions. Latin American nations have also continued to promote close relations with the United States, as exemplified by the 2011 ratification of trade agreement between Washington with Panama and Colombia. Moreover, countries with Washington-friendly governments like Chile, Mexico and Peru are parts of the U.S.-inspired Trans-Pacific Partnership.

A simple desire to distance themselves from Washington is hardly enough to make over 30 countries in the Americas enter into an alliance. Additionally, there remains a plethora of territorial disputes and occasional tensions among regional states (i.e. between Peru and Chile, Nicaragua and Costa Rica or Colombia and Venezuela).

Latin American and Caribbean nations are divided over how to shape their relations with Washington, as countries such as Mexico, Peru, and Colombia seek closer commercial and security ties, while the governments of Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador seek to further distance themselves from the United States’ influence. These different foreign policy objectives and national interests demonstrate that there are plenty of issues to be resolved before Latin American and Caribbean unity can emerge.