CARICOM at 50

THE Treaty of Chaguaramas, which established the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), was signed on July 4, 1973. Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica were the four Caribbean countries that signed the treaty 50 years ago. In a matter of days, we will commemorate that historic venture and reflect on how the body has evolved over the years.

First, I think we can all agree that everyone has an opinion on CARICOM. For some, it’s a failure. For others, it’s an example of a good regional integration model (though one can argue that the pool of people sharing the latter view may be significantly smaller than those who hold the first view). I don’t necessarily think of CARICOM in arbitrary ratings -- whether it has been a success or a failure. I don’t think CARICOM has lived up to all that many believed it would be, but simultaneously, I don’t think the body has been a failure. I believe CARICOM is a work in progress.

My experience as a Guyanese student at the University of the West Indies (UWI) informs my impression of CARICOM. In the first instance, poor experiences with immigration personnel convinced me that we have much further to go if we want to realise the free movement of CARICOM nationals. We must be able to appreciate and respect each other much more than we do, instead of letting prejudices and biases define our interactions. However, the plus side is that the UWI shows how formidable the region can be when we work together. For example, work from the UWI and people who present the institution contributed to the global attention being paid to reparations for the atrocities of enslavement and Indigenous genocide in our region. Together, our governments have been able to draw attention to things by which we are most affected, such as food insecurity and unfair global debt financing.

My impression of CARICOM being a work in progress is also influenced by my conversation with the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, earlier this year. I interviewed Dr. Gonsalves during his visit to Guyana as part of an extended feature for the News Room’s Insider production. Because I got the opportunity to speak to the Caribbean’s elder statesman months before this official anniversary, I had to pointedly ask him: has CARICOM been a success or a failure?

He thinks it is unfair to rate CARICOM as a success