Is Caricom Relervant?

The idea of forming a Caribbean federation was tabled, opposed, and rejected over fifty years ago, but why? It was a power struggle with accusations of political incompetence and supra-nationalism sentiments that led to its failure, not because it was unworkable or impossible to achieve.

Despite the failed attempts, aspects of the original idea got embraced by other countries and subsequently materialized into different regional organizations that eventually merged into Caricom. The newly created Caricom was supposed to be the grand master plan for the regional integration agender, but the treaty was riddled with flaws and never worked as intended.

After 50 years of fantasizing and delusions of grandeur, the only tangible achievement of Caricom is an expensive and outdated Caribbean bureaucracy of paid diplomats and bureaucrats seemingly in a state of suspended animation. If not naive, one would be delusional to believe that Caricom is the solution to the prevailing challenges and problems facing the Caribbean today.

The framers of Caricom failed to assess the long-term overall impact on people's way of life. Politicians arrogantly assumed that Caribbean Integration was exclusively a political decision and did not envision or anticipate some of the consequences and far-reaching ramifications. If done by consensus, the idea would have been rejected resoundingly by the citizens across the Caribbean diaspora.

Not sure if Caricom is a trojan horse, but It's not a relief package of goodies to the average citizens of the smaller countries that are experiencing some of the unintended or perhaps intended consequences of the master plan. Even good ideas can fail to a lack of foresight, development, and implementation strategy.

The regional heads of government who continue to perpetuate the integration myth and pursue aspirations of Caribbean federalization are afraid to admit the idea is dead, and they know it. Sovereignty and national interest will remain a permanent stumbling block in any attempt to federalize the Caribbean.

Who wants to give them up for the apparent supra-nationalist aspirations of others? Not the citizens, for sure! People's national identity, human rights, constitutional and democratic rights are not bargaining chips.

Globalization caught them sleeping. By the time politicians woke up, the whole world had changed overnight. What happened? There are no more free grants, special privileges, and preferences anymore.

Everyone is on their own, and that's the stark reality of globalization. CARICOM, the myth of sovereignty, and aspirational economic integration is an interesting and object analysis of the organization's missed oppotunities and apparent failures.