Tired of long-running trade disputes with the United States and upset that the Western Hemisphere's dominant regional organization enacts policies that favor the United States, Latin American and Caribbean nations agreed Tuesday to set up a trade bloc that excludes the United States and Canada. At a conference in Cancun, Mexican President Felipe Calderone said the new organization "must as a priority push for regional integration ... and promote the regional agenda in global meetings." The new trading group, which has been established as an alternative to the U.S.-dominated Organization of American States, could be comprised of 32 nations, including Cuba (which is not a member of the OAS). Participants in this week's conference envision a July 2011 launch for the new group, which is planning to hold a conference in Venezuela next summer. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez praised the new organization, which he said would stymie the United States' "colonizing" of the region.
Read the original story in BBC | Tuesday, Feb.23, 2010
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