Isolated Russia Hosts Latin American Parliamentarians

The Russia-Latin America international parliamentary conference

President Vladimir Putin gave a welcoming speech to a hall filled with Latin Americans members of parliament. The Duma’s website has this description:

International Parliamentary Conference ”Russia — Latin America“ is the first large-scale parliamentary event aimed at enhancing the interaction between the legislative bodies of the Russian Federation and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The parliamentarians from Latin America, the Caribbean and Russia, representatives of interparliamentary organizations, Russian and Latin American experts, community leaders, representatives of state authorities and diplomatic corps are going to take part in the Conference.

The Conference’s key theme is “Russia and Latin America: Cooperation for a Just World for All.”

The participants in the Conference are planning to discuss the interaction between Russian and Latin American legislators regarding a wide range of issues, focusing on expanding economic and humanitarian connections and developing a mutually beneficial level playing field for our countries in the parliamentary dimension.

The Conference will consist of a series of panel discussions and a plenary session.

It seems like every conference hosted by Russia or China currently is related in some way to the theme “Cooperation for a Just World for All”. As you’ll read, the theme is woven throughout Putin’s speech.

Vladimir Putin: Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

I would like to sincerely welcome all participants of the international parliamentary conference "Russia-Latin America".

At the initiative of the leadership of the Russian Duma, representatives of legislative authorities and leaders of various political parties, heads of public organizations, experts and diplomats from most Latin American countries gathered in Moscow.

The arrival of a representative group of legislators from Latin America, expressing the will of their constituents and called upon to work in their interests, is further evidence of the desire of the peoples of our countries to develop a comprehensive and mutually beneficial partnership with Russia. We are convinced that the intensification of direct dialogue between the parliaments opens up very good opportunities for deepening our cooperation and expanding it through new areas of joint activity.

I know that your conference has a very rich and extensive program, and the Chairman of the Russian State Duma told me about it yesterday. During thematic sessions and round tables, you will discuss the role of parliamentary diplomacy in strengthening cooperation between Russia and Latin American countries, and in various areas: in politics and security, socio-economic and humanitarian areas.

I would like to note that Russia and Latin American countries traditionally have a lot in common in their views on international issues. Latin Americans have always aspired to independence, and the history of your continent is full of the most vivid examples of this.

This was the case during the struggle against colonialism during the time of the famous Simon Bolivar, who became a symbol of freedom not only for Latin America, but, perhaps, for the whole world, for all mankind. So it was in the second half of the last century, when the continent gave the world such selfless fighters for justice and social equality as Salvador Allende, Ernesto Che Guevara, Fidel Castro.

(Applause.)

I must say that this is a round of applause for the place, as they say, applause that speaks about the role of the people I have just named. I remember my meetings with Fidel Castro, there were several of them. It was a lump, you know? This was a man who thought about people every second, and not only about Cubans – he thought about all of Latin America, thought about all the people on the planet, on earth. Indeed, his entire consciousness was imbued with concern for the common good and justice. It was a unique personality. These are the kind of people Latin America gives birth to.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that even now Latin American countries show a pattern in the success of the progressive formation of a multipolar system of international relations based on equality, justice, respect for international law and each other's legitimate interests.

In such a new, polycentric architecture, Latin American States, with their vast economic potential and human resources, and their desire to pursue a sovereign, independent foreign policy, will have one of the leading roles in the world. There is no doubt about it.

And Russia sincerely wants the countries of the Latin American region to develop steadily and dynamically, strengthen their positions in the global economy and politics. We have always been committed to ensuring that Latin America, in its unity and diversity, is strong, independent and successful.

To this end, we are ready to build cooperation both on a bilateral basis and work closely with the integration associations of the Latin American region: the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas, and the South American Common Market. In particular, we will help these structures to establish practical ties with the Eurasian Economic Union, compare approaches on topical issues of trade policy, tariff regulation, investment promotion, and technology transfer.

And of course, Russia welcomes the intentions of a number of Latin American States to join the BRICS activities as both full members and partners.

You know, if I deviate from the text [of the speech], I can say this. We have different information, different understanding of what is happening in different Latin American countries, and different political forces have different attitudes towards the associations I mentioned, including the process of joining BRICS. We all know this, we know the various trends in different political spheres, especially in the run-up to various political events in these countries. But BRICS is such an organization, it is not some kind of military alliance, it is just a platform for coordinating positions and developing acceptable, mutually acceptable solutions based on sovereignty, independence and respect for each other.

And I am absolutely sure that no matter what political parties in those countries that join, join, want to join, work with these organizations, including BRICS, whatever happens in political spheres and political parties, everyone will still have to be guided by people's moods. And the mood of the electorate in the broadest sense of the word in all Latin American countries is such that they are striving for freedom and independence. All countries and political parties in the Latin American region will have to take this into account. This means that, in fact, we will certainly cooperate strategically, including on those issues that are key on the BRICS agenda.

Why am I talking about this? Because Russia is taking over the BRICS presidency, and I am sure that we will do everything possible to make the so-called world majority feel that it is not just the majority in terms of the number of inhabitants of our countries, but that it is the majority, taking into account the prospects for its development.

(Applause.)

As for our direct relations with Latin American countries, I would like to highlight a few things that I consider a priority. These relations are, first of all, friendly, constructive and mutually beneficial. They develop on the basis of equality and mutual consideration of interests.

The trade turnover between Russia and Latin America has increased by 25 percent over the past five years. Russian exports have grown 2.3 times, and such goods as Latin American countries need: wheat, fertilizers, petroleum products and many other vital goods. These are our traditional markets in general. The further development of reciprocal commodity exchanges is undoubtedly facilitated by a more energetic transition to national currencies in financial settlements, building credit and banking cooperation channels, and establishing new transport and logistics chains.

As for the financial sector, we recently hosted the Russia – Africa summit in St. Petersburg. And so the African leaders casually said that the total debt burden on Africa is over a trillion dollars. This is simply impossible to pay, given the level of economic development of these countries.

Why am I saying this? I say this because modern financial and credit relations are built in the world in such a way that they serve exclusively the interests of the so-called golden billion. They, this "golden billion", or rather, the leaders of these "golden billion" countries, they exploit almost all other countries of the world. They abuse their position both technologically, informationally, and financially. They have built up international financial institutions in such a way and are implementing such rules in the sphere of financial and economic activity that they are practically profitable, I want to emphasize this, so everything looks quite good, but in the end, all these rules and institutions serve the interests of this "golden billion". And this, of course, should be considered. We are thinking about this, including within the framework of the BRICS organization that I have already mentioned.

I am sure that I know about this, and that the Latin American integration associations are also thinking about it and discussing these issues. These loan obligations, which are formulated for many emerging markets, are no longer even in the form of any loan obligations – they are some kind of rent. You see, this is some kind of contribution. This shouldn't happen. Therefore, we must all work together to change the rules in this international sphere as well.

We have a number of large mutually beneficial investment and high – tech projects to our credit. Let me remind you, for example, that a nuclear research and technology center is being built in Bolivia with the participation of Russia, joint biopharmaceutical enterprises are expanding their activities in Nicaragua and Venezuela, and a metallurgical plant is being modernized in Cuba. These are just some examples.

Our friendly attitude towards the countries of the region is also reflected in the fact that we are always ready to come to the aid of Latin Americans and always extend a helping hand and support in overcoming the devastating consequences of natural disasters, in the fight against terrorism, extremism, organized crime and drug trafficking.

A high level of cooperation is also maintained with Latin American countries in the humanitarian sphere. The number of countries with which we have established a visa-free regime is consistently growing – currently it covers 27 Latin American states. This opens up more and more opportunities for business, scientific and cultural exchanges, and increasing counter tourist flows.

Now there are almost five thousand Latin American students studying in our country, and the annual quota of their admission to budget places in Russian universities is also increasing this academic year. We also train professional personnel for national law enforcement agencies in Latin American countries.

Russian-Latin American projects in medicine and healthcare, as well as ensuring biological and epidemiological safety, are being implemented with good results. During the coronavirus pandemic, our country was one of the first countries to deliver large quantities of vaccines, test systems, sanitary products, and other medical and humanitarian supplies to Latin America.

And of course, I can't help but say, dear friends, that we know that there are about 300,000 immigrants from Russia and the USSR living in Latin America. Many of them have fully integrated into the life of their new countries, and some continue to live in their Russian communities, preserving their national spiritual culture, language, and identity. And we are grateful – I want to emphasize this, to say it to you, the parliamentarians, because you represent the interests of your constituents, and I ask you to convey these words of gratitude to those people with whom you work in the territories of your countries - we are grateful to our Latin American partners, the citizens of your countries for paying attention to the needs and interests of our Russian compatriots, for the memory of the role that Russian people played in the formation of some of the state institutions of the continent's countries, the development of their economy, culture and art.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that I think it is very appropriate and timely to activate the inter-parliamentary format of relations between Russia and Latin American states. The support of legislators is really in demand in many issues related to the further expansion of multifaceted Russian-Latin American ties. This is exactly what the current international parliamentary conference "Russia – Latin America" is aimed at.

Let me sincerely wish you, the participants of these events, and the organizers successful work and all the best. And of course, I would like to wish you, as parliamentarians, successful work in your noble work in your countries.

Thank you very much.

Welcome to Russia!

All the best!

As you’ll have noted, Putin was very adroit with his speech by appealing to the entire political spectrum within Latin America when he deliberately deviated from his prepared text. Putin’s closing with the issue of loans that are more like tribute/rent that in many cases are owed not to the Outlaw US Empire/IMF/World Bank but to the Neoliberal Oligarchs of each Latin American nation, especially Argentina and Brazil. We must recall that “Dollar Diplomacy” (hegemony) is over 100 years old within the Latin American region and US State-sponsored terrorism has existed since the end of WW2. Overcoming that heritage represents a huge hurdle for the region as Uncle Sam’s knee is still on the neck of several nations. The outcome of this Conference will be judged by future events and agreements. It appears to be off to a good start.

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