ABSTRACT
Community embraces Andorra, Portugal and Spain; the Latin American
Integration Association (ALADI) comprises only twelve of the twenty Latin
American states; the inchoate Community of Latin American and Caribbean
States (CELAC) messily brings together 20 Latin American and 13 Caribbean
countries; the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) unites ten of them
together with Guyana and Surinam; and the processes of subregional integration
(Mercosur, the Andean Community, the Central American Integration System) are
even less encompassing as regards membership. For its part, the Bolivarian Alliance
for the Americas (ALBA) unites only five Latin American countries with three
Caribbean microstates. One potential exception stands out: the Rio Group,
which numbers 23 members, including all of Latin America, but also a few coun-
tries from the Caribbean. Yet, there is still a caveat: this organisation lacks a
secretariat or permanent body, so if it did have a number it would have to be a
cell phone.
