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This 2023, Cuba hosts the meeting of the G77+China, an organization that has its origins in 1964 and that integrates 134 nations from the so-called Global South. The objective of this organization is to give a voice to developing countries against the main economic powers of the Western Hemisphere. In recent years, its importance has been increasing thanks to the presence of emerging powers, although its ability to act and reach agreements has also been questioned, being overshadowed by other forums such as the BRICS or the G20.
This September 15 and 16, Cuba hosts the summit of heads of state and government of the G77+China. An organization that has almost 60 years of history, in which it has been able to bring together 134 sovereign nations under the same umbrella, all of them belonging to the Global South. The objective of this is to counterbalance other economic and political organizations that encompass the largest Western powers, such as the renowned G7. However, despite its intentions, in these decades hardly any major binding agreements have been reached between its members.
To understand the origin of this organization, it is necessary to go back to the context of the Cold War in 1964. The world functioned in a bipolar dynamic that pitted the capitalist bloc, led by the United States, and the communist bloc, led by the Soviet Union. . However, in the midst of this polarization, a third group of nations emerged that, for the most part, came from a colonial past and sought to claim themselves as independent states and grow.
The G77+China was born from the Non-Aligned Movement
That space was initially occupied by the Non-Aligned Movement, created at the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia. However, soon the interests of these young States went beyond the rhetoric of neutrality and postcoloniality – which in many cases was not fulfilled – and that is when the G77 emerged, an institution whose purpose is to promote economic and trade agreements between countries. of the south to promote its development independently of the industrialized countries.
An approach that became more relevant even than the Non-Aligned Movement, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Its importance became more evident with the addition of China as an unofficial member in 1992. Since then, the Asian giant has taken part in the decisions of this organization and its role as a great economic power to counterbalance the G7 is of great importance for the G77. Along with China there are other great emerging powers such as India, Brazil or South Africa, who also have an important weight in the organization.
Inequality among its members, the main problem
But one of the big problems of this organization lies in the inequality between its members. While organizations like the G7 or the OECD have members with similar economic characteristics and political objectives, the G77+China has 134 nations with radically contrasting contexts, interests and ideologies.
All this without taking into account that the emerging powers of the G77+China are sometimes also part of other international organizations in which they seek to cooperate with historical powers, such as the G20. Something that makes it difficult for the G77+China to “unify” the interests of the global south.
![The former president of Cuba, Raúl Castro, the former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales and his counterpart from Ecuador, Rafael Correa, talk during the G77+China summit in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. On June 14, 2014.](https://s.france24.com/media/display/6eaeccbe-53fa-11ee-be06-005056bf30b7/AP803850631351.jpg)
This is the reason why to date no major agreements have been reached within the organization, beyond a trade treaty that prioritizes the export of agricultural goods between southern countries, something that is very small compared to what achieved by the G7, the G20 or the OECD.
This disparity in objectives has also meant that shared interests, such as rethinking the international order that was forged after the Second World War, have also not been achieved, despite having been proposed for some time.
A future in which emerging countries want to have more say
However, something that is undeniable is that the countries of this organization increasingly have greater economic and political weight in the world. The 134 member countries of the G77+China represent 80% of the world’s population, have some of the fastest growing economies in the world and the majority of the planet’s oil, mineral and natural resources. Resources that are also fundamental for the interests of Western powers.
This asset makes its importance key for the coming decades. The only doubt is whether, as an organization, the G77+China will know how to articulate itself as an alternative, also favoring the development of its poorest members. Or if, on the contrary, emerging powers will decide to take their own path, giving more weight to organizations like the BRICS.
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