The leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia were poised to sign what they call a "people's" trade accord yesterday designed to counter US efforts to forge a free trade area of the Americas.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived in the Cuban capital on Friday to prepare for the signing of the People's Trade Treaty that will streamline commercial relations between the three populist governments opposed to US trade policies.
Nicaraguan Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega was also on hand.
"It will be a great meeting of three generations of revolutionaries, of people representing the three revolutions that we still have to broaden," declared Morales after his arrival at Havana airport.
The Bolivian leader expressed confidence the People's Trade Treaty will help promote "just trade, trade that generates jobs, ensures living standards and defends human dignity."
Morales, who swept to the Bolivian presidency on a wave of popular discontent last December, will also formally join the so-called "Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas," an initiative promoted by Chavez and Castro in an attempt to thwart US plans to build a free trade zone in the Western Hemisphere.
Chavez praised what he described as the economic achievements of socialist Cuba under the leadership of Castro, his key regional ally.
"I have been visiting this country for 12 years," said the Venezuelan leader, "and in all those years, I have seen nothing but progress, growth and victories."
The socialist summit is viewed with some concern in the region as members of the Andean Community that includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru fear their grouping could be dealt a blow, if Bolivia decides to follow Venezuela's lead and withdraw from it.
Venezuela officially pulled out of the Andean Community last week in protest at its members signing bilateral free trade agreements with the US that Caracas insists threatens the commercial interests of Latin American countries.
Bolivian Finance Minister Luis Arce has already warned that Bolivia will follow Venezuela's lead, if Peru, Colombia and Ecuador continue to develop their free-trade relations with the US.
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