Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas
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Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (Spanish)
Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America |
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| Headquarters |  Caracas, Venezuela |
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| Member states |
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| Establishment | ||||
| - | Cuba–Venezuela Agreement | 14 December 2004 | ||
| - | People's Trade Agreement | 29 April 2006 | ||
| Area | ||||
| - | Total | 2,513,337 km2 970,405 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||
| - | 2008 estimate | 69,513,221 | ||
| - | Density | 27.65/km2 71.63/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2008 estimate | |||
| - | Total | $636.481 billion | ||
| - | Per capita | $9,156.25 | ||
| Currency | ||||
| Time zone | (UTC-4 to -6) | |||
| Internet TLD | ||||
| Website www.alianzabolivariana.org |
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The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (Spanish: Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América, or ALBA) is an international cooperation organization based on the idea of the social, political and economic integration of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is associated with socialist and social democratic governments and is an attempt at regional economic integration based on a vision of social welfare, bartering and mutual economic aid. The member nations are Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Venezuela. At the February 2012 summit, Suriname and Saint Lucia were admitted to ALBA as guest countries. ALBA nations are in the process of introducing a new regional currency, the SUCRE. It was intended to be the common virtual currency by 2010 and eventually a hard currency. On Tuesday, July 6, 2010, Venezuela and Ecuador conducted the first bilateral trade deal between two ALBA countries using the new trading currency, the Sucre, instead of the US dollar.[1]
The name initially contained "Alternative" instead of "Alliance", but was changed on June 24, 2009.[2]
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History [edit]
The agreement was initially proposed by the government of Venezuela, led by Hugo Chávez, as an alternative to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA or ALCA in Spanish) proposed by the United States. The adjective Bolivarian refers to Simón Bolívar, after whom Bolivia is named and who is revered as a hero in Venezuela and to a lesser extent in all of Spanish-speaking South America for his leadership of independence movements against Spanish colonial power.
The Cuba-Venezuela Agreement,[3] which was signed on December 14, 2004, by Presidents Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro, was aimed at the exchange of medical and educational resources and petroleum between both nations. Venezuela delivers about 96,000 barrels of oil per day from its state-owned petroleum operations to Cuba at very favorable prices and Cuba in exchange sent 20,000 state-employed medical staff and thousands of teachers to Venezuela's poorest states. Venezuelans can also travel to Cuba for specialized medical care free of charge.
When it was launched in 2004, ALBA had two member states, Venezuela and Cuba.[4] Subsequently a number of other Latin American and Caribbean nations have 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 2009 after the 2009 Honduran coup d'état saw him replaced by Roberto Micheletti.
Monetary union [edit]
In December 2008, ALBA member countries met again to approve the technical details of the introduction of the new currency that was named SUCRE.
In October 2009 leaders from ALBA agreed during a summit in Bolivia on the creation of the regional currency. "The document is approved," said Bolivian President Evo Morales, the summit host. President Hugo Chávez announced "The sucre - an autonomous and sovereign monetary system that will be agreed upon today so that it can be implemented in 2010."[5] The three Caricom member states which are currently using the Eastern Caribbean Dollar have all agreed to use the new proposed SUCRE as a common currency for electronic transactions amongst ALBA members rather than the US dollar. These countries will not be issuing bills in SUCRE, it will instead be used for electronic payment, and each country can withdraw the equivalent in its own currency.
Membership [edit]
| Common name |
Official name |
Date joined |
Population |
Area (km²) |
GDP PPP (US$ bn) |
Capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Antigua and Barbuda |
Antigua and Barbuda | 2009-06-24 | 85,632 | 442 | 1.575 | St. John's |
 Bolivia |
Plurinational State of Bolivia | 2006-04-29 | 9,119,152 | 1,098,581 | 50.904 | La Paz |
 Cuba |
Republic of Cuba | 2004-12-14 | 11,451,652 | 110,861 | 114.1 | Havana |
 Dominica |
Commonwealth of Dominica | 2008-01-20 | 72,660 | 754 | .977 | Roseau |
 Ecuador |
Republic of Ecuador | 2009-06-24 | 14,573,101 | 256,370 | 127.426 | Quito |
 Nicaragua |
Republic of Nicaragua | 2007-02-23 | 5,891,199 | 129,495 | 18.878 | Managua |
 St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 2009-06-24 | 120,000 | 389 | 1.259 | Kingstown |
| Venezuela |
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | 2004-12-14 | 28,199,825 | 916,445 | 374.111 | Caracas |
| ALBA Totals | 8 Countries | – | 69,513,221 | 2,513,337 | 636.481 |
In addition, two states (Suriname and St Lucia) are "special guest members" which intend to become full members.[6] Haiti, an observer member, also intends to join ALBA.[7]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ venezuelanalysis, 7 July 2010, Venezuela Pays for First ALBA Trade with Ecuador in New Regional Currency
- ^ "ALBA pasa a ser Alianza Bolivariana de los Pueblos de América" (in Spanish). Venezolana de Televisión. June 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ^ http://www.mltoday.com/Pages/NLiberation/Cuba-VenezPact.html/ initial Cuba-Venezuela TCP
- ^ Monthly Review, 2 July 2008, ALBA: Creating a Regional Alternative to Neo-liberalism?
- ^ http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/10/2009101712255748516.html
- ^ El Universal, 6 February 2012, ALBA summit ends with entry of guest countries
- ^ Haiti Willing to become Full ALBA Member
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: ALBA |
- (Spanish) Official website
- Venezuela's Answer to "Free Trade": The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas
- Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela celebrate alternative to US-led trade pacts
- Venezuela and the Caribbean (April 21, 2006)
- Editorial: Hugo Chávez and the Americans, May 12, 2005.
- Text of December 14, 2004 agreement between Venezuela and Cuba for the application of ALBA
- Venezuelan and Ecuadorian Presidents Seal Friendship with Joint Declaration, Dec 22, 2006.
- Venezuela, leftist allies create regional currency, April 16, 2009.
- Learning from ALBA and the Bank of the South by Martin Hart-Landsberg, Monthly Review.
- ALBA: Dawn of Solidarity in Latin America (video)
- The ALBA and Copenhagen by Fidel Castro, Monthly Review, October 19, 2009.
- Has Nicaragua found its Silver Bullet? by the Global Post, July 16, 2010.
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