The leaders of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) expressed their concern Tuesday about the advance of the extreme right in the region, as Marco Enríquez-Ominami, founder of the Puebla Group, acknowledged in statements.
“In Celac, today, there is something new: a clear reference to the extreme right. Here, in the speeches, the idea was installed with a name and surname, because there is also a great protagonist, who is (Jair) Bolsonaro,” said Enríquez-Ominami after the end of the speeches at the VII Celac Summit, which will take place celebrated today in Buenos Aires.
In the opinion of the Chilean politician, who has been a presidential candidate four times (2009, 2013, 2017, 2021), Brazil’s return to Celac led by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is “great news”, since ” recomposes” this forum after its abandonment by the Bolsonaro Administration in 2020.
“Bolsonaro refused to talk (…) Today there is a lot of emotion, because we had a savage pre-civilizational president of the biggest player in the region. There is a new reflection on that,” said the progressive politician, who is attending the summit as an adviser.
In this sense, Enríquez-Ominami pointed out that Lula, far from bowing to internal politics, “understands very well the enormous challenge” facing the region and, therefore, will not ignore foreign affairs.
“He has been in government for ten days, a crisis like that of the assault on the three powers and he is here, on an official visit, signing super substantive agreements for Argentina,” recalled the progressive politician, adding that Lula “is aware that there is a Bolsonarismo and there is a right” in Brazil.
The former presidential candidate assured that the integration processes of Latin America and the Caribbean are “complex”, while he lamented the proliferation of subregional and regional organizations.
All in a region that, he stressed, “is at its worst moment in decades”, with rising inflation and increasing poverty.
Enríquez-Ominami was one of those attending the VII Celac Summit, a conclave held in Buenos Aires with the presence of representatives of the 33 member countries.