ALBAINFO has just received its first update in nearly two years, with numerous additional listings being added to the literature directory. The website now features links to more recent publications from 2016 and 2017, including:

• “Moving towards a New Regional Financial Architecture? Problems and perspectives of monetary cooperation within the ALBA-TCP” by Daniele Benzi, Tomás Guayasamin and Mónica Vergara
• “Regulatory Center for Medicines of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas (ALBAMED)” by Celeste Aurora Sánchez González
• “Popular Power and Regional Integration: An Analysis of the ALBA-TCP” by Liza Elena Aceves López and Guiseppe Lo Brutto
• “ALBA – an alternative regional alliance?” by Dario Azzellini and Julia Eder
• “Legal Mechanisms of Economic Integration in Latin America: The Bolivarian Alternative” by Beatriz Lie

As the sole administrator of the website, I haven’t been able to find the time to continually update ALBAINFO over the last couple of years. However, despite laying dormant, the website still receives a substantial number of visitors, and I occasionally receive positive feedback from students, researchers and activists stating that the site is a helpful resource.

ALBAINFO will continue to receive occasional updates throughout 2017, and I hope that the sites visitors continue to gain value from the website.

Government leaders met in Havana, Cuba, on the 14th of December for the thirteenth ALBA summit. Commemorating the ALBA’s tenth anniversary, the summit had many important activities to discuss and plan, the summary of which can be found in the summits declaration.

Top of the agenda was welcoming two new member countries into the ALBA, Grenada and the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. With the addition of these two Caribbean states, the ALBA now has eleven full members.

This month, two important developments in the academic study of the ALBA have emerged.

Firstly, the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) has published a new book on the ALBA by Maribel Aponte Garcia titled El nuevo regionalismo estratégico: Los primeros diez años del ALBA-TCP  or The new strategic regionalism: The first ten years of the ALBA-TCP.

Keeping in line with CLACSO’s commitment to maintaining and promoting open access, this book is available to view or download for free at this location. Hard copies are also available for those who would like a copy for their bookshevles.

Secondly, a call for papers has been made for a one-day conference “Ten Years of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA): Progress, Problems and Prospects” to be hosted at the Institute for Latin American Studies, University of London, in February 2015.

Initiated by Dr Asa Cusack, the conference has already confirmed its keynote speaker as the Olivier Dabene: President of the Political Observatory of Latin America and the Caribbean .

Full details for the planned conference can be found at the events page on the ILAS website.

In other news, a review of the book Counter-Globalization and Socialism in the 21st Century: The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America has been published in the latest edition of the International Journal of Cuban Studies 

The ALBA has released a statement condemning the current Israeli military offensive against the Gaza strip, which has increased in intensity over the last week. Current reports estimate that over 160 Palestinians have been killed by the bombings, a significant majority of whom have been civilians, including many children. Within the statement the ALBA reiterates its “solidarity, support and sympathy” for the Palestinians against occupation, and expresses its wish to see the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

(Photo: Protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a solidarity rally held this week in Sydney, Australia. From Ali Martin and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0)

The statement follows the founding of a Venezuela – Palestine oil trade deal just weeks before, under which Palestine will receive oil at discounted rates in a similar fashion to the procedures of PetroCaribe.

Reports on the statement can be found from Press TV and Gulf Times

The 13th summit of the ALBA’s political council took place in Caracas on the 10th of June. Representatives from the ALBA’s nine full member countries, and Haiti as a guest participant, met to discuss and act upon a wide range of issues. Key points made by the Political Council include:

• Welcoming the tentative steps taken by the government of Columbia towards engaging the National Liberation Army (ELN) in peace talks.
• Furthering their condemnation of both domestic and external attempts to destabilize the legitimate Government of Venezeula.
• Voicing support for other international agreements and forums such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Group of 77 (of which Bolivia currently holds Presidency).
• Re-affirming their position that there should be no Summit of the Americas meetings held without the participation of Cuba.

The full communique which expands upon these points, and details further ALBA events which will be occurring in the near future is available here.

The ALBA has released a “special communique” condemning the U.S. political actors which have been pushing for unilateral sanctions to be taken against the government of Venezuela. The communique claims that this is another step in a more wide-ranging strategy of destabilization which the U.S. state is involved in, including the financing of extreme opposition groups which have been involved in violent protests over the last couple of months. As such the ALBA condemns external interference and reiterates its “full support” for the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela.

(Photo: Rioting in the streets of Caracas, February 2014. From MARQUINAM on Flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0)

Access the communique here

During their April conference held in Caracas, Venezuela, social movements participating in the ALBA have expressed support for the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolas Maduro. Over the past few months Venezuela has been experiencing protests and rioting from opposition groups. The ALBA social movements condemn this social unrest as part of a destabilization offensive by “capitalists and the US” against the democratically legitimate Bolivarian government, which they support and continue to work with through the Bolivarian Alliance.

Report from venezuelaanalysis.com: http://bit.ly/1kIPH0n