The president, Alberto Fernández, opened this Tuesday the 7th Summit of Heads of State of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which takes place in Buenos Aires.
Another 13 heads of state participate in the meeting, among them Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva (Brazil), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Gabriel Boric (Chile), Luis Arce (Bolivia), Luis Lacalle Pou (Uruguay), Mario Abdo Benítez (Paraguay), Xiomara Castro (Honduras) and Miguel Díaz- Cinnamon (Cuba).
Nicolás Maduro and Daniel Ortega withdrew from participating in the meeting after a series of mobilizations led by migrants from various countries in Argentina. The Venezuelan president even denounced an alleged plan to disrupt the Summit of the CELAC, before the protests for the violation of human rights in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. Foreign ministers Yván Gil and Denis Moncada attended in the place of the leaders.
During the opening speech, Alberto Fernández celebrated the return of Brazil to the Community. “A CELAC Without Brazil, it was an empty CELAC,” said the Argentine president.
He also stated that “We live in the most unequal continent in the world and we have to face a process that leads us towards equality and social justice of nations. United and together is easier than doing it separately”.
And I add: “The time has come to make Latin America and the Caribbean a single region that defends the same interests for the progress of our peoples”.
