The Other Side of Africa: A Common History, A Common Cause - Africa and Latin America

The continents of Africa and South America share deep-seated cultural, ethnic and historical ties. Over the centuries, cultures in both landmasses have influenced each other to varying degrees, as countries from both regions constructed ideologies based on the shared experience of foreign imperialism and a desire to achieve cultural, economic and political independence.

Over the course of more than four centuries, some 15 million Africans were taken from their homes and transported by force to the Americas. Over 90 percent of them were brought to South America and the Caribbean.

From the 1950s, as African colonies gained their independence, a surge of Pan-Africanism emerged, based on a common interest in the independence of Africa. African leaders concentrated their efforts on strengthening African unity through the creation of regional integration blocs, such as the Organization of African Unity.

However, by the 1970s, the Pan-African sentiment began to deteriorate due to a variety of factors, such as internal civil wars, debt accumulation and elite-led corruption.

Today, many African nations look to Latin America as a model for regional unity and the massive transformation in terms of regional solidarity it has experienced. The trend has been achieved through the creation of integration mechanisms, such as ALBA, the Union of South American Nations and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

In recent years, the two regions have initiated efforts to strengthen ties, as a means to promote development in a way that complements local needs.

In 2006, leaders from both continents held the first Africa-South America Summit, representing an opportunity for the two regions to build the foundations of a new paradigm of inter-regional cooperation.

Venezuela has been a key nation promoting the ASA Summit initiative, as well advocating for stronger inter-regional ties. Most recently, in 2014, following the severe Ebola outbreak that struck Western Africa, the Venezuelan government donated US$5 million to the United Nations to fight the spread of the virus.

The region took further steps to lend assistance after the ALBA member countries convened a special summit in Havana, Cuba, where they agreed to strengthen international cooperation, foster scientific research on the Ebola virus, and promote new and unexpected international partnerships.

Brazil is another South American country that has been instrumental in building regional ties. According to the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research, known as IPEA, among the 1,464 projects from 1999-2012 conducted in other developing countries — South-South cooperation — 552 of those, or 37 percent, were carried out in in African nations.

The large concentration of Brazilian international development cooperation projects in Africa is a reflection of Brazilian foreign policy priorities, as well as it’s shared identity with the region.

Over the last decade the two regions have enhanced cooperation efforts in the areas of health, energy, education and finance. They aim to strengthen cultural, economic and political ties with African nations.

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