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By Karla Jacobs, 10th June 2009
This month, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega will hand over the pro tempore presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA) to Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. It is timely, therefore, to take a brief look at the advances made within the regional integration system during Nicaragua's six month presidency.
Undeniably Ortega's most important achievements as president of SICA have been to oversee the unification of regional positions at a number of international forums and to increase the speed and effectiveness with which the region has responded to different threats or problems faced either by the region in general or by individual countries.
There are two clear examples of how, during the last six months, Central America has presented itself, perhaps for the first time, as a force to be reckoned with on the international diplomatic scene.
Central America commands greater respect from US government
In what was regarded as an attempt to undermine Ortega's SICA presidency in an attitude of blatant disregard for SICA's institutional framework, US Vice President Joe Biden arranged an encounter with Central American leaders through regional pro-US, anti-integration champion Oscar Arias, president of Costa Rica. The meeting took place in late March as part of Biden's pre-Summit of the Americas (Port of Spain) diplomatic tour. Neither Ortega nor Honduran President Manuel Zelaya attended the Costa Rican meeting in protest against the way it was organized.
During a previous extraordinary SICA presidents meeting called by Ortega the region's position on diverse issues going into the Port of Spain summit had been discussed and defined. Among the numerous points included in the declaration signed at the meeting were several observations vís-a-vís the meeting with Biden in San José. The most important of which insisted that diplomatic exchange and regional organizations are the legitimate channels through which bilateral and multilateral agendas between Central America and the US should be discussed and analyzed.
Most commentators agree that the disciplined unanimity of the regional leaders' - apart from Oscar Arias - disapproval of Biden's failure to respect the SICA framework was the impetus that obliged Barack Obama to call another encounter with the same leaders, this time using the established diplomatic channels, during the Port of Spain summit.
Unity and discipline force EU to consider Common Credit Fund
Significant advances have been made in the negotiation of an Association Agreement between SICA and the European Union (EU) since January. Most notably, Nicaragua has succeeded in convincing other regional governments to close ranks around the insistence that, unless the Europeans agree to the inclusion of a Common Credit Fund as part of the Association Agreement, no agreement of any kind would be signed.
The Common Credit Fund, a multi-million dollar fund financed mostly with EU capital, would provide Central American countries with significant financial resources for development. According to the Nicaraguan government, the Credit Fund would permit Central American countries' small and fragile economies to begin to overcome the severe disadvantages they have compared to EU countries as part of the Free Trade Agreement included in the Association Agreement.
It was during an extraordinary meeting of SICA presidents that took place in Managua on May 20th that the regional leaders defined their position with regards to Nicaragua's proposal. As a result representatives of the EU delegation in charge of the negotiations with Central America have been forced to change their "absolutely unthinkable" rhetoric for promises to take part in a mixed commission studying possible mechanisms of implementation of the Common Fund.
Guatemalan crisis and AH1N1 flu : sound regional responses led by Nicaragua
There is much on which to base the argument that Nicaragua's SICA presidency has provided the region with an example of how effectively regional governments can work together to counteract common problems and threats.
During the May 20th meeting the regional presidents signed a Special Declaration about Guatemala referring to the increasing levels of violence as part of "an ongoing destabilization campaign by representatives of organized crime." The regional leaders "expressed full support for the Guatemalan government and "condemned the crimes and violent acts against Guatemalan citizens which aim to undermine the constitutional government."
The addition of SICA's expression of support for the Guatemalan government to those of the OAS and the Río Group helped President Alvaro Colom maintain his presidential legitimacy in the face of a ruthless destabilization campaign by opposition forces.
AH1N1 influenza alert
Another example of a sound regional response was provided in late April when international concern spread about the the threat of an imminent pandemic caused by the AH1N1 influenza virus. Ortega called an emergency meeting of the region's health ministers which took place on April 28th in Managua. During the meeting a set of preventative measures to be implemented uniformly throughout the region was agreed upon. Other agreements included the negotiation and purchase of anti-viral drugs as a region and a regional request for emergency funds from the Panamerican Health Organization.
There are numerous other examples of less news worthy advances during Ortega's six month presidency, specifically in areas like food security, social housing, environmental protection and sustainable rural development which were highlighted as priorities by the Nicaraguan authorities. The so-called CA-4 countries - El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua - have already largely eliminated customs and immigration controls so as to facilitate movement of goods and people in the region. Costa Rica has resolutely refused to participate.
The rejection by Costa Rica and its President Oscar Arias of determined moves towards regional integration may slow down the process for the period of the Costa Rican pro tempore SICA presidency. But President Daniel Ortega's achievements, and before him the efforts of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, have definitely made regional integration a much greater priority for other governments in Central America.
Although Arias' six months pro-tempore presidency of SICA is likely to represent a setback in terms of the Central American integration process, the fact that Ortega and his colleagues have shown the benefits of a determined projection and defense of Central America's regional positions and interests in major international forums is not something that will be readily marginalised or undermined in future.