Establishment: In July 1974, Luis Echeverría Alvarez, Mexican President made a proposal to set up an organ for the economic cooperation and harmonization in Latin America. In March 1975, President Echeverría and President Perez of Venezuela made a joint communiqué and wrote a letter to the heads of the Latin American countries, formally proposing the establishment of the "Latin America Economic System". On 17 October 1975, the representatives of the 23 Latin American governments signed the "Panama Agreement", announcing the setting up of the Latin America Economic System, and the agreement entered into force on 7 June 1976. The official languages are: Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.

Aim: On the principle of equality, sovereignty, independence, non-interference of internal affairs, and mutual respect for the differences of each country's political, economic and social systems, it aims at promoting the regional cooperation in Latin America, pushing ahead the regional integration, working and carrying out the plan and projects for economic and social development, harmonizing the stand and strategy of the Latin American countries in relation to its economy and social problems, maintaining earnestly the lawful rights of the Latin American countries so as to establish a new international economic order, which is just and reasonable.

Members: Up to 2001, this organization had 28 members, including: Argentina, Barbados, the Bahamas, Paraguay, Panama, Belize, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Dominica, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grenada, Cuba, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, Venezuela, Uruguay, Jamaica and Chile. More than 50 political, economic and social organizations from Latin America, Europe and the United Nations have their observers in the organization.

Leading Personnel: Permanent Secretary Otto Alejandro Boye Soto from Chile. He used to serve as the Chilean Ambassador to Venezuela. He assumed the post on 1 December 1999 and his term of office will terminate on 30 November 2003.

Headquarters: The standing secretariat is stationed in Caracas, Capital of Venezuela.

Publications:

Website: http://lanic.utexas.edu/~sela or http://www.seal.org/

Organizations: 1. The Latin American Council: is a supreme organ formed of the plenipotentiaries appointed by each member country. The minister's regular meeting is held once every year to decide the general policy of the Latin America Economic System. If the council makes a decision or request brought forward by no less than 1/3 of the member countries it can call a special meeting of ministers or non-ministers. The council has a president, two vice-presidents, and a speaker, (they jointly form a presidium), who will be taken up in turn by the representative of each member country. 2. The Action Committee: is a provisional organ for cooperation purposes. Each committee must be formed at least of three member countries, and the other member countries may join in or quit it of their own accord. Its task is to work out a common program and plan with regard to some special problems, thereby coordinating their actions. But when the task is completed the committee can be disbanded or become a standing body. 3. The

Standing Secretariat: is an executive body, which is located in Caracas, Venezuela. Its permanent secretary is elected by the Latin American Council with his terms of office being of four years. The present permanent secretary is Carlos Moneta, an Argentinean, who assumed the post on 17 October 1995. 4. Major publications: SELA Noticias and SELA en Acción, both of which are in Spanish.


Major Activities:

Safeguarding the legitimate rights of the Latin American countries. The first special meeting of the Latin American Council in 1976 coordinated the stands of Latin American countries to attend the 77 Group conference. The meeting expressed the opposition to the restraining and discriminatory articles of the USA foreign trade act and demanded all members to take common action against the passive impact of the act in Latin America and support each other. The third regular meeting of the Latin American Council in 1977 expressed support for Guatemala for the USA obstructed Guatemala's efforts in developing its own merchant fleet. The fourth regular meeting in 1978 expressed support for Bolivia against the resolution of the USA to sell in huge quantities of strategic reserves of tin. In 1982, because of the conflict between Argentina and Britain over Malvinas Islands an action committee of supporting Argentina was set up and a resolution was adopted to provide Argentina with economic assistance and trade preference. The eighth regular meeting of the same year passed the Strategy on Latin America's Economic Security and Independence, stipulating that when sanctions were imposed on a member state of the Latin American Council, necessary measures should be taken and responses should be made. The meeting condemned the economic sanctions imposed on Argentina by the European Community. The fifth special meeting demanded that the USA lift the trade embargo against Nicaragua.

Promoting regional integration. In 1982 the Latin American Council, together with the Cartagena Agreement Committee organized the Latin America sub-regional organization conference. The conference pointed out that member states should make efforts to enlarge inter-regional trade and persist in Latin American economic cooperation and integration. It also decided to strengthen the information coordination of all sub-regional organization.

Solving the foreign debts of the Latin American countries. The ninth regular meeting in 1983 adopted a resolution, stressing that Latin American countries should strengthen cooperation and take common action in solving the heavy debts. The meeting also criticized the economic sanctions imposed on Nicaragua by the USA. In 1990 ministers of finance and presidents of central bank of all the member countries held a meeting, discussing the regional foreign debts and deciding to establish an 11-country ministerial committee to take coordinated action as a region to debtor countries in the framework of the debt resolutions of the Latin American and Caribbean countries. In 1991 the seventeenth regular meeting decided to reestablish a ministerial committee on debt.

Enhancing social development. In 1983 eighteen members of the Latin American Council signed the minutes on establishing an action committee on supporting economic and social development of Central America, and decided to grant assistance to the economic and social development process of Central America, to promote economic, technical and trade cooperation and to provide aid to and strengthen the regional integration institution. In 1997 the twenty-third regular meeting passed the statement on economic growth and employment, stressing that member countries should make a more effective combination of poverty elimination and employment policy so as to reduce social injustice while ensuring the sustained economic development.

Solving the issue of Cuba. The twenty-first regular meeting in 1995 issued a statement opposing the USA blockading Cuba. The twenty-third regular meeting in 1997 adopted a resolution expressing the strongest objection to Holmes-Burton Act and the USA intention to effect the Act and demanding the USA to abolish the blockade inflicted upon Cuba immediately. The twenty-fourth regular meeting in 1998 adopted a resolution, expressing the strong angry at Holmes-Burton Act and the blockade inflicted upon Cuba by the USA and demanding the USA to terminate its policy of isolating Cuba.

Eliminating the impact of financial crisis and establishing a new economic order. The twenty-fourth regular meeting in 1998 issued Havana Statement, pointing out that Latin American countries should speed up reforms of financial institutions and push ahead regional integration process. All the countries should strengthen cooperation so as to meet the challenge of globalization, seek to establish a new world trade system which should be open, indiscriminatory and take care of the needs of the developing countries. The Statement appealed to the developed countries and international financial institutions to take positive measures to eliminate the negative impact of the financial crisis, demanding that WTO members, especially the developed members, not to increase new trade barriers.

The twenty-sixth regular meeting in 2000 passed the statement on the 25 Anniversary of the establishment of the Latin American Economic System. The statement pointed out that Latin American countries should strengthen mutual coordination, support and cooperation, participate actively in making out the international economic regulations, promoting political, social, economic, cultural, and institutional integrated process in Latin America, consolidated regional peace and democracy, strive for the common objectives of realization of economic growth, social justice and poverty elimination. The statement held that over the past 25 years the Latin America Economic System played an important role in promoting cooperation and coordination among Latin American countries and between Latin America with the rest of the world as well.

Relations between China and Latin America Economic System: China gives a high appraisal to the Latin America Economic System, considering that it has made great efforts and gained achievements in promoting the regional cooperation, pushing ahead economic integration, and maintaining the lawful rights and interests of the countries in Latin America, and so China is willing to develop friendly and cooperative relations on the basis of equality, mutual benefits with the Latin America Economic System. In 1995, Liu Huaqiu, director of the Foreign Affairs Office under the State Council headed a delegation to attend the summit conference of the nonaligned countries held in Colombia, during which he met with Carlos Moneta, permanent secretary of the Latin America Economic System. On 14 November 1996, invited by the Latin America Economic System, Li Peng, Premier of the State Council during his visit to Venezuela, made an important speech at its headquarters, entitled "Compose jointly a new chapter of friendly cooperation between China and Latin America", elucidating China's five principles for developing the relations, and four major points for expanding economic cooperation and trade with Latin America. In 1998 the Standing Secretariat of the Latin America Economic System signed an agreement on cooperation with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), aiming to promote the trade and economic links between Chinese enterprises with their counterparts in the Latin American and Caribbean countries. Mr. Moneta, Permanent Secretary of the Latin America Economic System visited China in 1997 and 1999. In November 1999 President Yu Xiaosong of the CCPIT sent a message of congratulations to Mr. Boye for his being elected as new permanent secretary.