CÚPULA DA AMÉRICA LATINA E DO CARIBE SOBRE ... - Funag

CÚPULA DA AMÉRICA LATINA E DO CARIBE SOBRE INTEGRAÇÃO E DESENVOLVIMENTO - CALC
Presidente Hugo Chávez – Yo ayer hablé fue el medio minuto que tú
me regalaste.
Presidente Luis Inácio Lula da Silva – Bom, vamos começar o dia
de hoje ouvindo o Primeiro-Ministro da Jamaica.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding – Thank you very much Mr. President,
colleagues. First, I want to thank the government and people of Brazil for the
warm hospitality extended to us since our arrival. I believe it is so fitting that
this meeting be held in this beautiful city of Salvador, Bahia, the history and
heritage of which symbolize so much of what gives the ´people of Latin America
and the Caribbean their common and unique identity. I just wanted to say to
you, Mr. President, how I thoroughly enjoyed the show last evening, and if in
Jamaica we claim to teach the world how to run fast, then it must also be said
that Brazil can teach the world how to dance and how to transform youngsters
into musical virtuosos. So, I just wanted to congratulate you for that wonderful
show last night. I would also like to commend you on the initiative to bring us
together.
As I have said before, this is in so many respects a historic gathering, as
you have enabled the leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean to come
face to face. There is so much happening around us that we need to face
together, and you have made an important start. I also want to thank you as
well and thank President Chávez for the special attention both of you have
devoted to the small Island States of the English-speaking Caribbean – some
of our countries so small that they are no larger than a small village in Brazil or
Venezuela. But you have shown us respect, and we respect you and appreciate
you for that. The issue of Latin American and the Caribbean integration is like
a fetus which has been struggling to the bone. We must recognize the efforts
that have been made, the countless efforts made over many years to bring the
region together. There are today various organs and institutions and
mechanisms which have served progressively to bring the region closer
together, and they are part of the foundation on which we stand and on the
basis which this meeting in Salvador has been convened.
But with the exception of the Rio Group which met yesterday afternoon,
all of these initiatives have fallen short of the inclusiveness and extensiveness
that can able us to consolidate and maximize the energies and power of our
region, something which we are called to do if we are to accelerate the
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