ALBA

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).

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.

Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (Spanish)
Coat of arms
Headquarters	Caracas
Official languages	Spanish English
Member states	10 full members  Antigua and Barbuda  Bolivia  Cuba  Dominica  Grenada  Nicaragua  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Venezuela   Pending full membership  Suriname   Observers  Haiti  Iran  Syria   Former members  Honduras  Ecuador
Leaders
• Secretary General	Félix Plasencia^[1]
Establishment
• Cuba–Venezuela Agreement	14 December 2004
• People's Trade Agreement	29 April 2006
Area
• Total	2,513,337^[2] km^2 (970,405 sq mi)
Population
• 2008 estimate	69,513,221
• Density	27.65/km^2 (71.6/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2008 estimate
• Total	$636.481 billion
• Per capita	$9,156
Currency	5 currencies Bolívar Boliviano Córdoba EC dollar Peso
Time zone	UTC-4 to -6
Internet TLD	10 TLDs .ag .bo .cu .dm .gd .ni .kn .lc .vc .ve
Website www.albatcp.org/en/

Founded initially by Cuba and Venezuela in 2004, it is associated with socialist and social democratic governments wishing to consolidate regional economic integration based on a vision of social welfare, bartering and mutual economic aid. The ten member countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Venezuela.^[3] Suriname was admitted to ALBA as a guest country at a February 2012 summit. ALBA nations may conduct trade using a virtual currency known as the SUCRE. Venezuela and Ecuador made the first bilateral trade deal using the Sucre, instead of the US dollar, on 6 July 2010.^[4] Ecuador withdrew from the group in August 2018.^[5]

The name initially contained "Alternative" instead of "Alliance", but was changed on 24 June 2009.^[6]

History

 

Late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, founder of ALBA

The agreement was proposed by the government of Venezuela, led by Hugo Chávez^[7] as an alternative to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA or ALCA in Spanish, an agreement proposed by the United States), which never materialized.^{[citation needed]}

This Cuba–Venezuela Agreement,^[8] 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.^{[9][10][self-published source?]}

When it was launched in 2004, ALBA had only two member states, Venezuela and Cuba.^[10][11] 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.^[12] The Caribbean nations Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia also joined.^[13]

Jamaica, at the invitation of Chávez,^[14] and Mexico, at the invitation of Ortega,^[15] were invited to join the ALBA countries. Chávez also invited the countries of Central America to join ALBA,^[16] and invited Argentina to use SUCRE.^[17] 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.^[10]

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.^[18]

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.^[19]

Ecuador withdrew from ALBA in August 2018.^[20] Bolivia's interim government withdrew in November 2019 during the political crisis,^[21] but the newly elected government of Luis Arce rejoined following the 2020 Bolivian general election.^[22][23]

Amid the international isolation Russia is facing due to the invasion of Ukraine, ALBA invited Russia to participate at the 2023 ALBA Games.^[24]

Virtual currency

In October 2009, ALBA leaders agreed at a summit in Bolivia to create a virtual currency. "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."^[25] As of 2015, the virtual currency is being used to compensate trade between Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and especially Ecuador and Venezuela.^[10]

Summits of heads of state and government

Summit	Date	Location	Country	Decisions
I Ordinary	14 December 2004	Havana	Cuba	Founding summit of ALBA. Cuba-Venezuela Agreement signed by presidents Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.
II Ordinary	27–28 April 2005	Havana	Cuba	Attended by presidents Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.
III Ordinary	29 April 2006	Havana	Cuba	Attended by presidents Hugo Chávez, Fidel Castro and Evo Morales from Bolivia, who joins the group. The TCP is signed.
IV Ordinary	10 January 2007	Managua	Nicaragua	Meeting coinciding with inauguration as president of Nicaragua of Daniel Ortega, who announces the entry in the bloc as fourth country member.
V Ordinary	28–29 April 2007	Barquisimeto	Venezuela
VI Ordinary	24–26 January 2008	Caracas	Venezuela	Dominica joins the bloc.
I Extraordinary	22 April 2008	Caracas	Venezuela
II Extraordinary	25 August 2008	Tegucigalpa	Honduras	Honduras joins the bloc.
III Extraordinary	26 November 2008	Caracas	Venezuela
IV Extraordinary	2 February 2009	Caracas	Venezuela	Celebration of the tenth anniversary of Bolivarian Revolution.
V Extraordinary	16–17 April 2009	Cumaná	Venezuela
VI Extraordinary	24 June 2009	Maracay	Venezuela	Antigua and Barbuda, Ecuador and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines join the bloc.
VII Extraordinary	29 June 2009	Managua	Nicaragua	Condemnation of the coup d'etat in Honduras and demand of restoration of deposed president Manuel Zelaya.
VII Ordinary	16–17 October 2009	Cochabamba	Bolivia	The Unified System for Regional Compensation (SUCRE) is adopted.
VIII Ordinary	13–14 December 2009	Havana	Cuba	Celebration of the fifth anniversary of the bloc.
IX Ordinary	19 April 2010	Caracas	Venezuela	Honduras had left the group.^[26]
X Ordinary	25 June 2010	Otavalo	Ecuador
XI Ordinary	4–5 February 2012	Caracas	Venezuela
XII Ordinary	30 July 2013	Guayaquil	Ecuador	Saint Lucia joins the bloc.
VIII Extraordinary	20 October 2014	Havana	Cuba	Summit to deal with the Ebola crisis.
XIII Ordinary	14 December 2014	Havana	Cuba	Grenada and Saint Kitts and Nevis join the bloc. Celebration of the tenth anniversary of the bloc.
IX Extraordinary	17 March 2015	Caracas	Venezuela
XIV Ordinary	5 March 2017	Caracas	Venezuela
XV Ordinary	5 March 2018	Caracas	Venezuela
XVI Ordinary	14 December 2018^[27]	Havana	Cuba
XVII Ordinary	14 December 2019^[28]	Havana	Cuba	Celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of the bloc.
XVIII Ordinary	14 December 2020^[29]	videoconference		Celebration of the sixteenth anniversary of the bloc and of the rejoining of Bolivia into it.
XIX Ordinary	24 June 2021^[30]	Caracas	Venezuela	Celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo.
XX Ordinary	14 December 2021^[31]^[32]	Havana	Cuba
XXI Ordinary	27 May 2022^[33]^[34]	Havana	Cuba
XXII Ordinary	14 December 2022^[35]^[36]	Havana	Cuba	Celebration of the eighteenth anniversary of the bloc.

Membership

Main article: Member states of ALBA

Full members

Common name	Official name	Join date	Population	Area (km²)	E.E.Z + Area (km²)	GDP PPP (US$ bn)	Capital
Antigua and Barbuda	Antigua and Barbuda	24 June 2009	97,118	442	110,531	1.575	St. John's
Bolivia	Plurinational State of Bolivia	29 April 2006	9,119,152	1,098,581		50.904	Sucre
Cuba	Republic of Cuba	14 December 2004	11,451,652	110,861	460,637	114.100	Havana
Dominica	Commonwealth of Dominica	20 January 2008	72,660	754	29,736	0.977	Roseau
Grenada^[3]^[37]	Grenada	14 December 2014	111,454	348.5	27,770	1.467	St. George's
Nicaragua	Republic of Nicaragua	11 January 2007^[38]	6,466,199	129,495	254,254	18.878	Managua
Saint Kitts and Nevis^[3]^[39]	Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis	14 December 2014	54,961	261	10,235	1.087	Basseterre
Saint Lucia	Saint Lucia	20 July 2013	180,870	617	16,156	2.101	Castries
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	24 June 2009	120,000	389	36,691	1.259	Kingstown
Venezuela	Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela	14 December 2004	28,199,825	916,445	1,387,952	374.111	Caracas
ALBA–TCP totals	10 countries		46,166,389	1,159,612.5	2,333,962	515.555

Observer members

Common name	Official name	Population	Capital
Haiti^[40]	Republic of Haiti	10,847,334	Port-au-Prince
Iran^[40]	Islamic Republic of Iran	81,672,300	Tehran
Syria^[40]	Syrian Arab Republic	18,284,407	Damascus

Former members

Common name	Official name	Join year	Withdrawal year	Population	Capital
Honduras	Republic of Honduras	2008	2010	9,112,867	Tegucigalpa
Ecuador	Republic of Ecuador	2009	2018	16,385,068	Quito

In addition, Suriname is a "special guest member" that intends to become a full member.^[41]

Other ALBA initiatives

 

A clickable Euler diagram showing the relationships between various multinational organisations in the Americas.v • d • e

 

XIV 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]

TeleSUR

Launched in 2005, TeleSUR is a media conglomerate that provides news and current affairs broadcasts throughout the ALBA bloc. The program is based on 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 August 2013, BBC News stated that "Alba consists of one oil-rich nation and various minnows wishing to benefit from its largesse" and that "there is little chance of the rhetoric becoming reality any time soon".^[43] As the crisis in Bolivarian Venezuela began, President Nicolás Maduro called on other ALBA members to begin contributing, though the smaller members distanced themselves from the proposal since they only sought the benefits from Venezuela.^[43]

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.

Karen Longaric, appointed as foreign minister by Jeanine Áñez's interim government, announced the formal departure of the country from ALBA in November 2019 over "interference" in Bolivia's political crisis.^[45]

See also

• Latin American integration
• ALBA Games
• Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)
• Association of Caribbean States
• CARIFORUM
• Belt and Road Initiative
• Pacific Alliance
• Mercosur
• Andean Community of Nations
• Union of South American Nations
• Foro de São Paulo
• Pink tide
• Latin American Free Trade Agreement
• North American Free Trade Agreement
• Non Aligned Movement
• PetroCaribe
• Lima Group
• SUCRE
• Copenhagen Accord
• Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA or ALCA)
• International trade
• Social security
• Trade bloc
• Eurasian Economic Union

References

1. "Declaración del ALBA-TCP: Justicia social y cooperación". ACN (in Spanish). 16 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
2. The total area of ALBA reaches 5,057,735 km² if the maritime areas is included .
3. . Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
4. venezuelanalysis, 7 July 2010, Venezuela Pays for First ALBA Trade with Ecuador in New Regional Currency
5. "Ecuador leaves Venezuelan-run regional alliance". AP NEWS. 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
6. "ALBA pasa a ser Alianza Bolivariana de los Pueblos de América" (in Spanish). Venezolana de Televisión. June 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-30.^{[permanent dead link]}
7. Arana, Marie (18 April 2013). "Opinion – Bolívar, Latin America's Go-To Hero". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
8. . Archived from the original on 2005-11-04. Retrieved 2005-12-02. initial Cuba-Venezuela TCP
9. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CubaVenezuela-Alliance-Piccone-Trinkunas.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
10. Inc, IBP (20 March 2009). Latin America Energy Policy and Regulations Handbook Volume 1 Strategic Information and Programs. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781438728360. Retrieved 24 August 2018 – via Google Books. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)^{[self-published source]}
11. Monthly Review, 2 July 2008, ALBA: Creating a Regional Alternative to Neo-liberalism?
12. "Honduran Congress Approves Withdrawal From ALBA".
13. "Two more Caribbean Nations join ALBA". 26 June 2009.
14. "Cuba Revolución: Chávez invita a Jamaica a sumarse al ALBA". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
15. Diario, El Nuevo. . Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
16. (ABN), Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias (20 July 2007). "Chávez invitó a toda Centroamérica a unirse al ALBA". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
17. . Archived from the original on 2016-05-27. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
18. "Twelfth ALBA Presidential Summit Takes Place in Ecuador". americasquarterly.org. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
19. "Grenada Joins ALBA | NOW Grenada". www.nowgrenada.com. December 15, 2014.
20. "Ecuador leaves Venezuelan-run regional alliance". AP NEWS. Associated Press. 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
21. "Bolivia rompe relaciones con Venezuela y se retira de la Alianza Bolivariana ALBA | DW | 15.11.2019". Deutsche Welle (in European Spanish). 15 November 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
22. "Bolivia reanuda su participación en Unasur, Celac y Alba". France 24. 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
23. "ALBA-TCP member countries celebrate 16 years of regional integration". 14 December 2020.
24. Россию пригласили на самые антиамериканские старты мира. Что это такое? (Russia was invited to the most anti-American competition in the world. What is it about?)
25. "Bolivia summit adopts new currency". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
26. "Honduras se retira de Alba". Honduras se retira de Alba. 13 January 2010.
27. . Archived from the original on 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
28. "17th Summit of ALBA-TCP in Cuba focuses on regional situation". Prensa Latina. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
29. . ABI (in Spanish). 13 December 2020. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
30. "Venezuela acoge la XIX Cumbre del ALBA-TCP en el marco del Bicentenario de la Batalla de Carabobo". ABI (in Spanish). 24 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
31. "Inaugura Presidente cubano la XX Cumbre del ALBA-TCP (+Fotos)". ACN (in Spanish). 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
32. "ALBA-TCP Summit Declaration endorses independent politics". Prensa Latina. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
33. "ALBA-TCP Summit in Havana without exclusions". PL. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
34. "ALBA-TCP Summit in Cuba rejects exclusion and discrimination". PL. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
35. "ALBA-TCP chief arrives in Cuba to attend 22nd Summit (+Photo)". PL. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
36. "ALBA-TCP define fortalecer liderazgo y actuar en bloque en la cumbre de la CELAC". Bolivia TV (in Spanish). 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
37. . Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
38. "Nicaragua celebra 14 años de solidaridad y respeto como parte del ALBA-TCP". La Voz del Sandinismo (in Spanish). 11 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
39. . Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
40. Hirst, Joel D. (15 August 2019). "A Guide to ALBA". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
41. El Universal, 6 February 2012, ALBA summit ends with entry of guest countries
42. Cederlöf, Gustav; Kingsbury, Donald V. (2019). "On PetroCaribe: Petropolitics, Energopower, and Post-Neoliberal Development in the Caribbean Energy Region". Political Geography. 72: 124–133. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2019.04.006. S2CID 164598358.
43. Plummer, Robert (1 August 2013). "Alba alliance ambitions lay bare Latin trade confusion". BBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
44. "Lenin Moreno ordenó a la UNASUR desalojar edificio en Ecuador". La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-07-07.
45. "La política internacional de Añez: anunció la salida de Bolivia del Alba, de la Unasur y rompió relaciones con Venezuela". Latinomerica Piensa (in Spanish). 15 November 2019.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas.

• (in English) Official website
• (in Spanish) Official website
• (in Spanish) Portal ALBA