Relaciones internacionales.indb - HOMINES

ALINE FRAMBES-BUXEDA
“free trade agreement” established between Canada and the United States
that awakened a wave of reaction and protest from the workers trade
unions in the United States. Recently, since 1989, both countries have
made political and legal agreements concerning integration. As we have
stated, the “Caribbean Basin Initiative” is another United States agreement
heading towards “free trade” with Central America and the Caribbean.
The same has occurred in a different form between the United States and
Mexico. In this way, a process of integration is undertaken with Mexico
which is analogous to the one already in existence with Puerto Rico and
Canada. 10 Naturally, Cuba, Nicaragua and the Central American conflict
were formidable obstacles to that process of “North American” integration.
Nevertheless, the Central American conflict, and the economic and
political crisis it unleashed, (now under control) has caused considerable
losses to Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America in terms of their
former margin of autonomy, in view of the present economic-military
advances of the United States; especially now, when we consider the form
of integration that the U.S.-Canada transnational enterprises want to set
in motion. 11
It is in this context that the new project of cooperation and integration
undertaken by Argentina and Brazil (Mercosur) becomes enormously
important and a real alternative for Latin America and the two Latin
American sub-regions of the Caribbean Basin (The Antilles and Central
America), as well as for Mexico. This is so especially in the event that
Uruguay, Paraguay and then some time later Venezuela, shall become
incorporated into the integration process begun by Argentina-Brazil, as
some experts already expect will happen. 12
Caricom and the Central American Common Market should definitely
undertake a new restructuring of integration in the Caribbean Basin that
will include the English-speaking Caribbean as well as the Spanish, French,
Dutch-speaking Caribbean, all of which have been absent from this unifying
process until now. The new “Association of Caribbean States” seemed
to be moving in this direction in 1994-2000.
Caricom, in our opinion, will have to evolve also in the direction of
integration with Latin America in a more dynamic way along with Central
America and Mexico, or instead be incorporated forcefully and in a subordinate
position to the “North American Free Trade Agreement.” In the
10
Op, Cit., Helio Jaguaribe, p. 9.
11
a) Perroux, Francois, ¿Quién integra ¿En beneficio de quién se realiza la
integración, INTAL, Buenos Aires, 1987.
b) Grinberg, Gabriel, “Los negocios de la integración,” El Periodista, Year 3,
No. 108, Oct. 3-9, 1986, p. 12.
12
Op, Cit., Jaguaribe, Helio, pp. 9-10.
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