Meeting in the Mexican resort of Playa del Carmen, the leaders of 32 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean agreed to set up a new regional body. When it is created, either next year or in 2012, it will be a rival to the Organisation of American States, in which the United States and Canada, but not Cuba, take part. The leaders also expressed their support for Argentina’s claim to sovereignty over the Falkland (or Malvinas) Islands, which has been reignited by the arrival of an oil exploration rig in the islands.
In Cuba, Orlando Zapata, a political prisoner, died in hospital after a lengthy hunger strike in protest at poor prison conditions. Mr Zapata was arrested in 2003, during a crackdown against democracy activists on the island. Cuba’s president, Raúl Castro, said he regretted the death but denied that prisoners suffered torture.
Brazil’s governing Workers’ Party endorsed Dilma Rousseff as its candidate in October’s presidential election. Ms Rousseff is President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s chief of staff and was hand-picked by him as his successor. She has pledged to continue Lula’s pragmatic economic policy, but at the party convention Lula said that she should not be afraid to extend the state’s remit in the economy.
