Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas

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Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our America Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (Spanish)
Largest city		Caracas
Official languages		2 English Spanish
Member states		9 Members  Antigua and Barbuda  Bolivia  Cuba  Dominica  Ecuador  Honduras  Nicaragua  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Venezuela
Establishment
-	Cuba-Venezuela Agreement	14 December 2004
-	People's Trade Agreement	29 April 2006
Area
-	Total	2,625,829 km2  1,013,834 sq mi
Population
-	2008 estimate	73,453,238
-	Density	27.97/km2  72.45/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$669.206 billion (21)
-	Per capita	$9,110.64 (82)
Currency		7 Bolivian boliviano Cuban peso East Caribbean dollar Honduran lempira Nicaraguan córdoba United States dollar Venezuelan bolívar
Time zone		(UTC-4 to -6)
Internet TLD		9 .ag .bo .cu .dm .ec .hn .ni .vc .ve
Website AlternativaBolivariana.org

The Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our America ("Alternative" was replaced with "Alliance" on June 24, 2009) ^[1] (Spanish: Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América or ALBA - which also means 'dawn' in Spanish) is an international cooperation organization based upon the idea of social, political, and economic integration between the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is associated with the left, and unlike other free trade agreements, the ALBA represents an attempt at regional economic integration that is not based primarily on trade liberalization but on a vision of social welfare, bartering and mutual economic aid. ALBA nations are in the process of introducing a new regional currency, the SUCRE.

Contents 1 Background 2 Membership developments 3 Other developments 4 Member States List 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Background

The agreement was initially proposed by the government of Venezuela, led by Hugo Chavez, as an alternative to the failed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA or ALCA in Spanish) proposed by the United States. The adjective Bolivarian refers to Simón Bolívar, who is revered as a hero in Venezuela and to a lesser extent in entire Spanish-speaking South America for his leadership of independence movements against Spanish colonial power.

When it was launched, ALBA had two member states, Venezuela and Cuba.^[2] 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.

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 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.

[edit] Membership developments

President Evo Morales of poor but gas-rich Bolivia joined the TCP on April 29, 2006, only days before he announced his intention to nationalize Bolivia's hydrocarbon assets.^[4]

Newly elected President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua signed the agreement in January 2007;^[5] Venezuela agreed to forgive Nicaragua's US$31 million debt as a result. On February 23, 2007, Ortega visited Caracas to solidify Nicaragua's participation in ALBA.^[6]. However, Nicaragua is also a member of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

Rafael Correa, the president of Ecuador, signed a joint agreement with Hugo Chávez, to become a member of ALBA once he became president.^[7] Ecuador officially joined in June 2009.^[8]

In January 2008, the Caribbean island nation of Dominica joined ALBA.^[9]

On August 25 2008, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya signed an agreement to join the ALBA, with a rally in front of the Presidential House that was attended by many of the presidents of the countries that are part of ALBA, including Chávez and Morales.^[10] Congress approved ALBA on October 9, 2008.^[11]

In April 2009 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was accepted as the seventh member of ALBA, while Grenada stated publicly that it was not yet ready to join the bloc.^[12]

In June 2009, the Prime Minster of Jamaica said he would seek address the future of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) given the effects of ALBA and Trinidad and Tobago's proposed political union with the OECS on the Caribbean Community as the two main elements he says will have a "destabilising effect" on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) bloc.^[13]

Antigua and Barbuda, Ecuador and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines formally joined ALBA on 24 June 2009.^[14]

[edit] Other developments

In December 2008, ALBA member countries met again to approve the technical details of the introduction of the new currency that was named SUCRE.

[edit] Member States List

Flag	CoA	Common name	Official name	Date joined	Population	Area (km²)	GDP PPP (US$ bn)	Capital
		Antigua and Barbuda	Antigua and Barbuda	02009-06-24 24 June 2009	&0000000000085632.00000085,632	&0000000000000442.000000442	1.546	St. John's
		Bolivia	Plurinational State of Bolivia	02006-04-29 29 April 2006	&0000000009119152.0000009,119,152	&0000000001098581.0000001,098,581	43.424	Sucre
		Cuba	Republic of Cuba	02004-12-14 14 December 2004	&0000000011451652.00000011,451,652	&0000000000110861.000000110,861	108.2	Havana
		Dominica	Commonwealth of Dominica	02008-01-20 20 January 2008	&0000000000072660.00000072,660	&0000000000000754.000000754	.72	Roseau
		Ecuador	Republic of Ecuador	02009-06-24 24 June 2009	&0000000014573101.00000014,573,101	&0000000000256370.000000256,370	106.993	Quito
		Honduras	Republic of Honduras	02008-10-09 9 October 2008	&0000000007483763.0000007,483,763	&0000000000112492.000000112,492	32.725	Tegucigalpa
		Nicaragua	Republic of Nicaragua	02007-02-23 23 February 2007	&0000000005891199.0000005,891,199	&0000000000129495.000000129,495	15.89	Managua
		Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	02009-06-24 24 June 2009	&0000000000120000.000000120,000	&0000000000000389.000000389	1.085	Kingstown
		Venezuela	Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela	02004-12-14 14 December 2004	&0000000028199825.00000028,199,825	&0000000000916445.000000916,445	358.623	Caracas
-	–	ALBA	Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our America	–	&0000000073453238.00000073,453,238	&0000000002625829.0000002,625,829	669.206

[edit] See also

Free trade Free trade area International trade Trade bloc

North American Free Trade Agreement Mercosur Andean Community of Nations Union of South American Nations

PetroCaribe Association of Caribbean States SUCRE (currency) Latin American Free Trade Agreement

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• AlternativaBolivariana.org (Spanish)
• Venezuela's Answer to "Free Trade": The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (December 7, 2006) - Focus on the Global South
• Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela celebrate alternative to US-led trade pacts (April 30th, 2006) - Jamaica Observer
• Venezuela and the Caribbean (April 21st 2006) - Stabroek Newspaper Guyana.
• Editorial: Hugo Chávez and the Americans (May 12th 2005) - Stabroek Newspaper Guyana.
• Commentary: Is Mr Chavez's Bolivarian Alternative attractive? (February 26th 2004) - Stabroek Newspaper Guyana.
• 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 22nd, 2006) Venezuela Analysis
• Venezuela, leftist allies create regional currency (Caribbean Net News, 16 April 2009)

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