The OAS has been a key actor in promoting democracy in the region. However, their efforts have not been effective for the return of freedoms in countries such as Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, where the political situation and respect for individual freedoms continue to be precarious.
Some analysts consider that the prominence of the OAS has been diluted and that instruments such as the Inter-American Democratic Charter (CDI), promulgated on September 11, 2001 in Lima, Peru, to guarantee democracy and institutions in the Western Hemisphere, today may not instill greater respect among the signatory countries of that treaty. .
Ambassador Mora responded to these questions and said that the US is working to strengthen it and to do so, it increased the OAS budget by 10%, which, he assures, remained the same for four decades.
-The OAS has been questioned for its perhaps somewhat soft role, with policies that have probably not been as effective in achieving its purposes against countries in dictatorships and others. What is the United States doing??
The OAS, in the Permanent Council, with now 32 members, functions based on consensus. We usually don’t take action unless there is consensus. That is difficult, not only because there are 32 members, but the region is well polarized. In the world, politics is very polarized and, of course, that is going to be reflected in the Permanent Council (of the OAS) and that may lead to a certain level of paralysis in the Council. But despite that, recently the OAS has acted in a very positive way in favor of democracy, the rule of law and against corruption. To give an example, let’s look at Guatemala. To stop an effort to undermine the will of the Guatemalan people, the OAS and the Secretary General (Luis Almagro) acted and we were a factor in helping the transition process lead to the change of government, with President (Bernardo) Arévalo. There were meetings, resolutions, pressures. Sometimes, we ambassadors focus too much on what the Permanent Council does, but there is another OAS, which is not talked about, which is the General Secretariat, the Secretariat of Multidimensional Security, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Secretariat for the Strengthening of Democracy, where are the electoral missions. All that work that is done there and that people don’t know about is important, it has an impact. The investigations carried out by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the electoral observer missions give legitimacy to the elections, and that is what the OAS does. In that sense, it goes a long way and must be defended and promoted. The United States and other countries pushed hard on the issue of increasing the OAS budget, which had not been increased for 10 or 12 years. That’s crazy.
– Was the OAS abandoned?
In your budget, yes. Not with us, because President (Joe) Biden and Secretary (Antony) Blinken said clearly from the beginning of the administration that international institutions are of utmost importance. These mechanisms must be strengthened because the problems we are facing are transnational and require transnational responses, and the United States, with all the power it has, cannot do it alone. There are entities like the OAS, where we can work to deal with the problems of climate change, the issue of corruption, and the OAS is doing a good job in this. What happens is that people focus a lot on what the OAS has done regarding Venezuela and Cuba. In reality, we do not have the tools to pressure because we are an international organization. Two of the great pillars of the OAS are democracy and human rights. There is the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which was used in Nicaragua and also in Guatemala.
-But it has not been used with other countries.
Of course, that is why we are in the process of strengthening the CDI. I chair a voluntary group of members who are working to see how we can strengthen the Charter because it is a document from 23 years ago, when the threats to democracy were different and all that, at the end of the day, strengthens the OAS.
– Does the Inter-American Democratic Charter no longer instill ‘fear’?
In Guatemala, a lot of fear; in Nicaragua too, but the dictatorship arrived in Nicaragua and decided to leave the OAS. And he did it because he did not like the pressures that came from the OAS and other organizations on the issue of democracy and human rights.
– What does the strengthening of international institutions promoted by the United States consist of, specifically in the case of the OAS?
We increased the budget by 9% or 10%. In 1984 dollars, the OAS budget was approximately $84 million. After 40 years, the budget in today’s dollars was the same amount as that time. So can not be.
– What is this money going to be invested in?
We invested in a consultancy that will carry out a total evaluation of the organization, which will provide us with recommendations on where we can invest and where we cannot invest to have a more modern, effective and relevant organization. It is a private consultancy that was hired and began its work a few weeks ago. They are going to look at all fronts, governance, budget, policies, and then it will be up to us ambassadors to take those recommendations and implement them.
– Is this a ‘lifeline’ that the United States is giving to the OAS?
I don’t want to use that word because it is a lifesaver when someone is drowning and about to die, and this is not the case of the OAS, but it is an investment to strengthen it.
– How is the recurring issue of dictatorships in the region viewed by the OAS at this time? Has the international community gotten used to seeing these regimes?
I’m going to start with Cuba, and you are absolutely right. Cuba has not been a member and has not participated in the OAS for many years. The unfortunate thing is that the international community, at least the hemispheric community, has abandoned the Cuban people. Maybe not all countries, but the vast majority. People have accepted that Cuba is like that, but some countries also have interests because Cuba sends them doctors and gives them support. In any case, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights continues to work on the issue in Cuba and presented a report that clearly proves that Oswaldo Payá (1952-2012) was murdered. After the protests of July 11, 2021 (in Cuba), the Commission made a preliminary report of what had happened. The idea was that the Commission would be given the opportunity to present the report to the Permanent Council, but some governments opposed it for different reasons. Nicaragua withdrew from the OAS, but we approved an important resolution where we say, among other things, that we are not going to abandon the Nicaraguan people, despite the fact that the dictatorship denounced the Democratic Charter, but they remain members of the Inter-American System and are also under some conventions. We are currently in the process of establishing a working group within the Permanent Council that will follow up on Nicaragua, even though it has left the organization. That is a working group that is being formed, it has not yet been approved, which is being led by Canada and Chile, and the United States is a member of that group. Now it must go to the Permanent Council, it is a difficult issue, consensus is needed.
-Venezuela is another country that announced its withdrawal from the OAS and there is some confusion about it. How can this process be explained?
That is a complicated legal issue, they are not really outside the OAS. Maduro said he was leaving, just as Nicaragua did. This was during the previous Donald Trump administration. A week before the deadline to leave was met, they presented the interim government of Juan Guaidó, who said no, that that date be suspended and that Venezuela remained a member of the OAS. So, there is that confusion of yes or no he is a member. I think these days we are going to have a discussion about Venezuela, in light of what has happened since the Barbados Agreement and the failure to comply with that deal. The United States has that opinion, it is not the opinion of the Permanent Council. We believe that it is time to address the issue because many governments, including Brazil and Colombia, have spoken out against the disqualification of María Corina Machado (Venezuelan presidential candidate) and other things that have been done. It seems to me that the political climate is at the moment to have that discussion, to support that process and make it successful.
-How do you see the presence of Russians, Iranians and also elements of international organizations associated with terrorism in countries that are in dictatorship, such as Venezuela?
What really worries us in this sense is disinformation and intervention in political campaigns and the political process by Russia. The disinformation campaign is impressive, especially after the invasion of Ukraine, in an effort to articulate and change the narrative, seeking to have more sympathizers. This from Russia is impressive; It is a very sophisticated system that they have and it seems to me that it is a state policy. I was recently in Colombia. You turn on the TV and there are two stations from Russia saying any number of nonsense, and people see that and believe it. For us, that is a big problem, because they are doing everything possible to make democracy weaker.
-When you said that the Western Hemisphere has forgotten the issue of Cuba, do we also have to mention the United States as the protagonist of that forgetfulness?
No. We must keep in mind that if Havana is not willing to modernize, reform or take seriously the changes that are necessary, from the point of view of us who are very committed to the issue of democracy and development, that It is very difficult for us in the sense that they do not want to embark on starting to have the changes that are needed. For us, the issue of democracy and human rights in Cuba is fundamental, and if there is no movement in that aspect, then it is difficult for us to have a negotiation that can bring important changes.
-How does the United States analyze China’s expansion in the region?
It is indisputable that China has a campaign to increase its influence in the region through economic instruments or tools. The answer we have, and when I say we I mean the United States, is that we have to compete. We have to compete with China in the economic sector and we must have the tools to do so. That is why we have the Alliance for Economic Prosperity in the Americas (APEP). Right now we have 11 or 12 members and within that framework the idea is to strengthen economic ties, beyond free trade, between the governments and countries of the region with the United States.
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