On January 26 and 27, representatives from 61 nations, including 43 heads of state, gathered in Santiago, Chile for the 7th bi-regional summit of EU-LAC Heads of State and Government. It was one of the largest summits ever held in South America, and the first time that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), launched in 2010, participated as the EU’s institutional counterpart.
Although some of the world’s most powerful men and women showed up in Santiago that weekend, the event was largely ignored by the English-speaking media. The most prominent attention came from The Financial Times, with a story headlined, “Silly in Chile.” No one mentioned that this was the most successful EU-LAC gathering in 14 years, as measured by the number of heads of government in attendance.
But the meeting underlined other milestones as well for a Latin America that is increasingly becoming a player in the global economy and world affairs…
