COPPPAL
Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President |
Manolo Pichardo, Dominican RepublicAdjunct President: Gustavo Carvajal Moreno,  Mexico |
| Founded | October 12, 1979 |
| Website | |
| www.copppal.org | |
The Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPPAL) is an international organization of political parties in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was created at the behest of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) on 12 October 1979 in Oaxaca, Mexico, and brings together liberal parties, Social Democrats, Christian Democrats and leftist parties. Today COPPPAL is the most important forum of political parties in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Its first president (1979-1981) was Gustavo Carvajal Moreno Mexico (PRI). Its current president is the Dominican politic Manolo Pichardo.
Overview
COPPPAL was established during an October 12, 1979, conference in Oaxaca, Mexico, on the initiative of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), the ruling party in Mexico at the time. The multilateral non-governmental organization was defined by its charter as a "forum of nationalist parties that prioritize sovereignty, while advancing a more just and egalitarian international order." [1]
The organization would advance this goal by
"defending democracy and the legal and political institutions while fostering their development and improvement; strengthening the principle of self-determination of the peoples of Latin America; promoting regional integration; supporting any initiative for disarmament; promoting the defense, sovereignty and better utilization of the natural resources of each country in the region; boosting development; promoting Latin American regional organizations and joint actions that will enable the establishment of a more just international economic order; defending and promoting respect for human rights." [1]
The organization was led by the PRI between its establishment in 1979 and 1984, and again between 1989 and 2005. Antonio Cafiero of the Justicialist Party (Argentina) was elected president of the coordinating committee in 2005, and Gustavo Carvajal Moreno of the PRI (Mexico) was elected as its adjunct president. Cafiero was succeeded in 2011 by Pedro Joaquín Coldwell of the PRI.[2] The committee coordinates youth exchange, consultative, and other activities among its member parties, as well as with the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP).[3]
Membership
The following political parties from the Americas are represented at COPPPAL (associate members in italics):[4]
