Fidanza and Picaro: "Europe must not turn a blind eye to authoritarianism in Latin America."

Following their participation in the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) in Lima, Peru, ECR MEPs Carlo Fidanza and Michele Picaro strongly criticised the gathering’s failure to explicitly condemn the repressive communist regimes in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.

MEP Carlo Fidanza, Vice-President of EuroLat, stated:

“It is a serious failure that the final declaration did not include a clear condemnation of the authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. We also called for a strong appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners held by the Maduro, Díaz-Canel and Ortega regimes, but this was rejected.”

The ECR MEPs also emphasised the importance of strengthening European cooperation with Latin American partners in addressing shared challenges such as migration, organised crime and drug trafficking. However, they stressed that trade agreements such as the EU-Mercosur deal must not cause further harm to European farmers who are already under pressure due to misguided EU policies.

ECR MEP Michele Picaro said:

“Latin America is strategically important for Europe, yet it is too often neglected in our foreign policy. The EU must strengthen its presence in the region, especially in the face of growing Chinese and Russian influence — but not at the cost of ignoring the suffering caused by communist regimes.”

Fidanza and Picaro also drew attention to the ideological influence of the Cuban Communist Party and Brazil’s Workers’ Party within the Latin American arm of EuroLat. They claim that this influence has prevented the recognition of severe human rights violations and the erosion of the rule of law in these countries.

“One encouraging outcome was the successful blocking of yet another ideologically motivated climate resolution. Thanks to the joint action of centre-right and conservative forces — the so-called ‘Venezuela majority’ — we ensured that ideology did not override common sense once again. We will continue our fight for freedom, democracy, and fair cooperation”, the ECR MEPs concluded.