Dr Manuel Barcía Paz, senior lecturer at the University of Leeds and a board member of the IISC, has written on the founding of the new Caribbean and Latin American regional organisation: the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, better known by its Spanish acronym CELAC (Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños). Dr Barcía argues that while there have been attempts at regional integration in the past, this time the exclusion of the United States and Canada is a sign that the countries of the South are striking out on a new path towards independence.

You can read his comment on the Huffington Post website here:

A Star is Born? Enter the CELAC