Sistema de Integración Centroamericana Central American Integration System
Motto: God, Union and Liberty
Anthem: La Granadera
Map of the Central American Integration System
Official language		Spanish
Type		Supranational union
Membership		7 members  Belize  Costa Rica  El Salvador  Guatemala  Honduras  Nicaragua  Panama 1 associate  Dominican Republic 8 observers  Chile  Republic of China  Germany  Mexico  Italy  Brazil  Argentina  Spain
Establishment
-	Court of Cartago	20 December 1907
-	ODECA	14 October 1951
-	CACM	13 December 1960
-	SICA	13 December 1991
Area
-	Total	572,510 km2  221,047 sq mi
Population
-	2009 estimate	51,152,936
-	Density	89.34/km2  231.4/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2010 estimate
-	Total	318.141 billion
-	Per capita	$6219.40
GDP (nominal)		2010 estimate
-	Total	172.634 billion
-	Per capita	$3374.86
Website sica.int

Central American Integration System (Spanish: Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana; SICA) is the economic, cultural and political organization of Central American states since February 1, 1993. It was on December 13, 1991, however, when all the countries of the ODECA (Spanish: Organización de Estados Centroamericanos; ODECA) signed the Protocol of Tegucigalpa which extended the earlier cooperation in search for regional peace, political freedom, democracy and economic development. The headquarters of the General Secretariat of SICA are located in the Republic of El Salvador.

In 1991, the institutional framework of SICA included the States of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Belize joined in 2000 as full member, while the Dominican Republic became an associated state in 2004. More recently, Mexico, Chile and Brazil became part of the organization as regional observers; while the Republic of China, Spain, Germany and Japan became extrarregional observers. The SICA has a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions of the United Nations General Assembly^[1] and maintains permanent offices at UN Headquarters.^[2]

Four countries, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, are going through a process of political, cultural, and migratory integration and have formed a group called The Central America Four or CA-4, which has introduced common internal borders. Belize, Costa Rica, Panama and Dominican Republic join the CA-4 only in matters of economic integration and regional friendship.

History[link]

Central American Court of Justice[link]

Between November 14, and December 20, 1907, following a proposal made by Mexico and the United States, five Central American nations – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua – took part in the Central American Peace Conference in Washington, D.C, sponsored by United States President Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of State, Nobel Prize winner Elihu Root. The five nations, which had all previously been Spanish colonies had sought on numerous prior occasions, with great difficulty, to form a political alliance. The earliest attempt was the Federal Republic of Central America, and the most recent such effort had taken place 11 years earlier, with the founding of the Republic of Central America.

Nations ended the Conference by signing a peace treaty, one aspect of which created the Central American Court of Justice (Corte de Justicia Centroamericana). The signatories agreed that the convention creating the Court would remain in effect for ten years, beginning at the time of the last ratification. All communications between the signatories were made through the government of Costa Rica. The Court was composed of five judges, one each from each member state. For the period of its functioning the Court heard ten cases, five of which were brought by private individuals and declared inadmissible, and three of which were started by the Court's own initiative. The court operated for 10 years, until April 1918, from its headquarters in Costa Rica, at which point it dissolved. Its members had sought without success from March 1917, when Nicaragua gave a notice of termination from the agreement, to continue the arrangement.

Several explanations for the treaty's failure exist:

• The court lacked an effective system of judicial procedure.
• The judges were not free to act independently of their respective governments.
• The court had been given a jurisdiction too broad to satisfy its member states.^{[citation needed]}

Organization of Central American States[link]

Following the end of World War II, a new interest in integrating the Central American governments began. On October 14, 1951, 33 years after the dissolution of the CACJ, the governments of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua signed a new treaty creating the Organization of Central American States (Organización de Estados Centroamericanos, or ODECA) to promote regional cooperation, integrity and unity in Central America. The following year, December 12, 1952, ODECA's charter was altered to create a new Central American Court of Justice (this time called the Corte Centroamericana de Justicia, or CCJ), without the time limitation of its previous incarnation.

The Charter of San Salvador was ratified by all the governments of Central America, and on August 18, 1955 the foreign ministers held their first meeting in Antigua Guatemala. There ensued the Declaration of Antigua Guatemala, which decreed that subordinate organizations should be formed under ODECA, to help establish systems of organization and procedure so there would be no restrictions to free intercourse, to economic cooperation, to better sanitary conditions for member nations, and to continued progress in the “integral union” of the Central American nations.^[3]

The Central American Common Market, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, and the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) were established between five nations of Central America on December 13, 1960 in a conference in Managua.^[4] These nations ratified the treaties of membership the following year. Costa Rica joined the CACM in 1963. Panama is conspicuous by absence. Then organization froze in 1969 with the war between Honduras and El Salvador. In 1973, ODECA was suspended and progress in regional integration came to a standstill.

Revival[link]

It was not until 1991 that the integration agenda was completed with the creation of the SICA, which provided a clear legal base to avoid discrepancies between the member states. The SICA membership includes the 7 nations of Central America plus the Dominican Republic, a state that is part of the Caribbean. Central America already has several supranational institutions such as the Central American Parliament, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and the Central American Common Market. The current Central America trade block is organized by the General Treaty for Economical Integration signed October 29, 1993 (Guatemala Protocol). The CACM has succeeded in removing duties on most products moving among the member countries, and has largely unified external tariffs and increased trade within the member nations. The bank has 5 non-regional members: Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Taiwan and Spain.

Economic Integration[link]

Prospects for a Central American Currency Union[link]

Trade with the US—the region’s largest trading partner—is the most important source of income for Central America. More than half of Central American exports are destined for the US. Remittances annually add up to billions of dollars as well.^[5] This concentration of trade with the US points to the potential benefits of reduced transaction costs and greater efficiency of a common currency. Yet, at the same time retaining their own currencies is a priority for individual countries. A weaker domestic currency means cheaper exports and a more dynamic and competitive export industry.

A new currency is unlikely and a dollarization of the region is perhaps the only possibility.The emergence of a new common currency would also be troubled by the available regional institutions’ lack of effectiveness, resources and relevance; thus, governments have rarely delegated responsibilities to them.^[6] A regional central bank would also have to be established and it’s not clear how this would be done.The currency union undertaking—a process that would require frequent and consistent political commitment—has not found priority in the regional agenda. Regional efforts are focused on security problems and social issues such as combating drug trafficking and organized crime, improving education, meeting energy needs, crafting natural disaster prevention measures, etc.^[7]

In terms of Robert Mundell’s Optimum Currency Area criteria, Central America does not fulfill important prerequisites for a union and is arguably not the site of an optimum currency area.^[8] Though the region as a whole enjoys a high degree of factor mobility, diversified composition of output, price and wage flexibility, and important financial integration it also fails to meet important criteria. The lack of business cycle synchronization,^[9] high and dissimilar levels of public sector debt, diverging inflation rates, and the lack of high levels of intraregional trade are some deficiencies.^[10]

Institutions[link]

Central American Parliament[link]

The parliament was created with the vision to be a modern renewal of the historic Federal Republic of Central America which existed from 1823 to 1840. Costa Rica is the only one of the original five states not to join Parlacen, but in its place are two new contributors: Panama (which was once part of Colombia, or rather New Granada, and so was not one of the original Central American states) and the Dominican Republic. It has its more recent origins in the Contadora Group, a project launched in the 1980s to help deal with civil wars in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Although the Contadora was dissolved in 1986, the idea for Central American Integration remained, and its works were taken by the Esquipulas Peace Agreement, which, among other acts, agreed to the creation of the Central American Parliament. Members return 20-22 directly elected deputies to the Parliament. In spite of its efforts to promote the Esquipulas Agreement, Costa Rica has not yet ratified and is consequently not represented in the Parlacen. Parlacen has been seen by some, including former President of Honduras, Ricardo Maduro as a white elephant.^[11]

Central American Court of Justice[link]

The current mission of the CCJ is to promote peace in the region and unity between its member-states. Today's Court^[12] has jurisdiction to hear cases:

• between member States
• between a member state and a non-member state which agrees to the Court's jurisdiction
• between states and any natural or legal person who is a resident of any member state
• regarding the integration process between Central American Integration System's (SICA) organs and member states or natural or legal persons

The Court may also offer consultation to the Supreme Courts of the region. In 2005, the Court ruled that Nicaraguan congressional reforms, which took control of water, energy and telecommunications services away from President Enrique Bolaños were "legally inapplicable", possibly further inciting the Nicaraguan political crisis. As of July 2005, the CCJ has made 70 resolutions since hearing its first case in 1994.

System bodies[link]

• Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica, BCIE)^[13]
• Central American Common Market (CACM; Mercado Común Centroamericano, MCCA)
• Central American Court of Justice (CCJ)^[14][15][16]
• Central American Parliament (Parlamento Centroamericano, PARLACEN)
  • Plenum
  • Board of Parliament
  • Secretariat
• Presidents Summit
  • Comité Consultivo (CC-SICA)
  • Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs
  • Executive Committee (CE-SICA)
  • Vice Presidents Summit
  • Secretariat General (SG-SICA)^[17]

See also[link]

• Latin American Integration Association
• Central America-4 Border Control Agreement
• Central America-4 passport

References[link]

• Guyana Journal (2007-07): Advancing Integration Between Caricom and Central America
• "Commission Studies Impeachment", the Tico Times, July 15 – July 21, 2005

External links[link]

• Central American Integration System
• Central American Parlament
• Central American Economic Integration System
• BCIE / CABEI
• Decisions of the CACJ in English (1908-1917)

Central America
Area	523,780 km2 (202,233 sq mi)[1]
Population	41,739,000 (2009 est.)[1]
Density	77 /km2 (200 /sq mi)
Countries	7
Demonym	Central American, American
GDP	$107.7 billion (exchange rate) (2006) $ 226.3 billion (purchasing power parity) (2006).
GDP per capita	$2,541 (exchange rate) (2006) $5,339 (purchasing power parity) (2006).
Languages	Spanish, English, Mayan languages, Garifuna, Kriol, European languages, and many others
Time Zones	UTC - 6:00, UTC - 5:00
Largest cities (2002)	Guatemala City San Salvador Tegucigalpa Managua San Pedro Sula Panama City San José, Costa Rica Santa Ana, El Salvador León San Miguel[2]

Central America (Spanish: América Central or Centroamérica) is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast.^[3][4] When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent. Central America consists of the seven states of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Central America is part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from northern Guatemala through central Panama.^[5] It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, the North Pacific Ocean to the west, and Colombia to the south-east.

Central America has an area of 524,000 square kilometers (202,000 sq mi), or almost 0.1% of the Earth's surface. As of 2009, its population was estimated at 41,739,000. It has a density of 77 people per square kilometer or 206 people per square mile.

History[link]

Political Evolution of Central America and the Caribbean from 1700 to present

In pre-Columbian times, the north-western areas of modern Central America were part of the Mesoamerican civilization. The Native American societies of Mesoamerica occupied the land ranging from central Mexico in the north to Costa Rica in the south. Most notable among these were the Maya, who had built numerous cities throughout the region, and the Aztecs, who created a vast empire. The pre-Columbian cultures of Panama traded with both Mesoamerica and South America, and can be considered transitional between those two cultural areas.

Following Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas for Spain, the Spanish sent numerous expeditions to the region, and they began their conquest of Maya lands in the 1520s. In 1540, Spain established the Captaincy General of Guatemala, which extended from southern Mexico to Costa Rica, and thus encompassed most of what is currently known as Central America, with the exception of British Honduras (present-day Belize). This lasted nearly three centuries, until a rebellion (which followed closely on the heels of the Mexican War of Independence) in 1821.

After the dissolution of Spanish authority, the former Captaincy General remained intact as part of the short-lived First Mexican Empire. Central America then emerged as a distinct political entity upon the independence of the Federal Republic of Central America a representative democracy with its capital at Guatemala City. This union consisted of the present day nations of Guatemala (which included the former state of Los Altos), El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica (which included a region which is now part of Panama, and the Guanacaste Province which was once part of Nicaragua), and Soconusco, a portion of the modern Mexican state of Chiapas. The Republic lasted from 1823 to 1838, when it began to disintegrate due to civil wars.

Belize was contested between the Spanish Empire and the British Empire, a dispute that continued after the independence of Guatemala, who considered Belize to be a Guatemalan department. It was declared a British colony and given the name British Honduras in 1871, gaining independence as Belize in 1981.

Panama, situated in the very south of Central America on the Isthmus of Panama, has for much of its history been culturally linked to South America. Panama was a part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Granada, and then, following independence, became part of Gran Colombia. Only after independence from Colombia in 1903 did some begin to regard Panama as a North or Central American entity.

Central American integration[link]

Sistema de Integración Centroamericana
Central American Integration System

Motto: «Peace, Development, Liberty and Democracy»
Anthem: La Granadera

Area	560,988 km²
Population	50,807,778 hab.
Countries	Belize  Costa Rica  El Salvador  Guatemala  Honduras  Nicaragua  Panama  Dominican Republic

Countries and capitals of Central America.

Central America is currently undergoing a process of political, economic and cultural transformation that started in 1907 with the creation of the Central American Court of Justice.

In 1951 the integration process continued with the signature of the San Salvador Treaty, which created the ODECA, the Organization of Central American States. However, the unity of the ODECA was limited by conflicts between several member states.

In 1991, the integration agenda was further advanced by the creation of the SICA, Sistema para la Integración Centroamericana or System for the Central American Integration. The SICA provided a clear legal basis to avoid disputes between the member states. The SICA membership includes the 7 nations of Central America plus the Dominican Republic, a state that is traditionally considered part of the Caribbean.

On December 6, 2008 SICA announced an agreement to pursue a common currency and common passport for the member nations. No timeline for implementation was discussed.

Central America already has several supranational institutions such as the Central American Parliament, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and the Central American Common Market.

On July 22, 2011 president Funes of El Salvador became the first president pro tempore to the SICA. El Salvador also became the headquarters of SICA in the inauguration of a new building.^[6]

Geography[link]

Map of and location of Central America Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama are the seven countries that are located in this region.

Central America has an area of 524,000 square kilometers (202,000 sq mi), or almost 0.1% of the Earth's surface. As of 2009, its population was estimated at 41,739,000. It has a density of 77 people per square kilometer or 206 people per square mile.

Physical geography[link]

  Central America and the Caribbean Plate

Physiographically, Central America is the tapering isthmus of southern North America, with unique and varied features extending from the north-western borders of Belize and Guatemala southeastward to the Isthmus of Panama where it connects to the Colombian Pacific Lowlands in northwestern South America. Alternatively, some physiographists locate its northern border at some point in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico.^[7]

Central America has an area of some 592,000 square kilometres. The Pacific Ocean lies to the southwest, the Caribbean Sea lies to the northeast, and the Gulf of Mexico lies to the north. Most of Central America rests atop the Caribbean Plate.

The region is geologically active, with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring from time to time. In 1976 Guatemala was hit by a major earthquake, killing 23,000 people; Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, the last one killed about 5,000 people; three earthquakes devastated El Salvador, one in 1986 and two in 2001; one earthquake devastated northern and central Costa Rica in 2009 killing at least 34 people; in Honduras a powerful earthquake killed 7 people in 2009.

Volcanic eruptions are common in the region. In 1968 the Arenal Volcano, in Costa Rica, erupted and killed 87 people. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lavas have made it possible to sustain dense populations in the agriculturally productive highland areas.

Central America has many mountain ranges; the longest are the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Cordillera Isabelia and the Cordillera de Talamanca. Between the mountain ranges lie fertile valleys that are suitable for the people; in fact most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala live in valleys. Valleys are also suitable for the production of coffee, beans and other crops.

Biodiversity[link]

El Chorreron, El Salvador.

San Pedro Beach in Ambergris Caye, Belize

Tropical beach (El Zonte) near La Libertad, El Salvador.

Central America is part of the Mesoamerican Biodiversity hotspot, boasting 7% of the world's biodiversity.^[8] As a bridge between North and South America, Central America has many species from the Nearctic and the Neotropic ecozones. However the southern countries (Costa Rica and Panama) of the region have more biodiversity than the northern countries (Guatemala and Belize), meanwhile the central countries (Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador) have least biodiversity.^[8] The table shows current statistics for the seven countries:

Country	Amphibians	Birds	Mammals	Reptiles	Wildlife diversity	Vascular Plants	Biodiversity
Belize	46[9]	544[9]	147[9]	140[9]	877[9]	2894[9]	3771[9]
Costa Rica	183[10]	838[10]	232[10]	258[10]	1511[10]	12119[10]	13630[10]
El Salvador	30[11]	434[11]	137[11]	106[11]	707[11]	2911[11]	3618[11]
Guatemala	133[12]	684[12]	193[12]	236[12]	1246[12]	8681[12]	9927[12]
Honduras	101[13]	699[13]	201[13]	213[13]	1214[13]	5680[13]	6894[13]
Nicaragua	61[14]	632[14]	181[14]	178[14]	1052[14]	7590[14]	8642[14]
Panama	182[15]	904[15]	241[15]	242[15]	1569[15]	9915[15]	11484[15]

Foreign relations[link]

Until recently, all Central American countries have maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan instead of China.^[16] President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, however, established diplomatic relations with China in 2007, severing formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Human geography[link]

Guatemala City is the largest city in Central America

Countries of Central America

Name of territory, with flag	Area (km²)[1]	Population (July 2009 est.)	Population density (per km²)	Capital	Official language
Belize	&1000000000002296600000022,966	&10000000000307000000000307,000	&1000000000000001300000013	Belmopan	English
Costa Rica	&1000000000005110000000051,100	&100000000045790000000004,579,000	&1000000000000009000000090	San José	Spanish
El Salvador	&1000000000002104000000021,040	&100000000061630000000006,163,000	&10000000000000292000000292	San Salvador	Spanish
Guatemala	&10000000000108890000000108,890	&1000000001402700000000014,027,000	&10000000000000129000000129	Guatemala City	Spanish
Honduras	&10000000000112090000000112,090	&100000000074660000000007,466,000	&1000000000000006700000067	Tegucigalpa	Spanish
Nicaragua	&10000000000130373000000130,373	&100000000057430000000005,743,000	&1000000000000004400000044	Managua	Spanish
Panama	&1000000000007820000000078,200	&100000000034540000000003,454,000	&1000000000000004400000044	Panama City	Spanish
Total	&10000000000523780000000523,780	&1000000004173900000000041,739,000	&1000000000000008000000080	-	-

Infrastructure[link]

Panoramic view of El Salvador's capital city San Salvador

The skyline of Panama City from Ancon Hill.

Panoramic View of Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Panoramic View of Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Guatemala City skyline

Construction began of the first Expressway/Freeway in Central America RN-21 (Boulevard Diego Holguin), due to the increasing amount of vehicular traffic in the west side of the San Salvador Metropolitan Area, which consist of three cities: Santa Tecla, Antiguo Cuscatlan, and San Salvador, in El Salvador.

City rail in La Ceiba, Honduras is one of the few remaining passenger train services in Central America

A Copa Boeing 737-700 in Honduras

Roads[link]

The Pan-American Highway runs through Central America, and except for an 87 kilometres (54 mi) rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's longest "motorable road". However, because of the Darién Gap, it is not possible to cross between South America and Central America by traditional motor vehicle.

Rail[link]

• Belize: see Rail transport in Belize
• Costa Rica: see Rail transport in Costa Rica
• El Salvador: see Rail transport in El Salvador
• Guatemala: see Rail transport in Guatemala
• Honduras: see Rail transport in Honduras
• Nicaragua: see Rail transport in Nicaragua
• Panama: see Rail transport in Panama

Airlines[link]

Usage[link]

"Central America" may mean different things to various people in the world based upon different contexts:

• In English speaking countries, Central America is considered a region of the North American continent.^[18] Geopolitically, it usually comprises seven countries – Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.^[19] Mexico, in whole or in part, is sometimes included, regardless of correctness, by Britons.^[20] Some geographers include the five states of Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán,^[19] together representing 12.1% of the country's total area.
• In Latin America, Iberia, and some other parts of Europe, the Americas are considered to be a single continent called America, and Central America is considered a distinct region of this continent and not a part of North America. In Ibero-America, the region is defined as seven nations – Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama – and may occasionally include Mexico's southernmost region.^[21] Geopolitically, Mexico is considered part of North America.^[22]
• Occasionally, regardless of correctness, the term Central America is used synonymously with Middle America.^[23] Among some German geographers, Mittelamerika may be used to refer to the territories on the Central American isthmus.^[23]
• In German, Zentralamerika may be used to refer to the territories on the Central American isthmus.^{[citation needed]}
• The UN geoscheme defines the region as all states of mainland North America south of the United States; conversely, the European Union excludes Belize and Mexico from its definition of the region.^[24][25]

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	North America portal
	Central America portal
	Latin America portal

• Index of Central America-related articles
• Americas (terminology)
• List of Ultras of Central America
• Mesoamerica
• Mountain peaks of Central America

References[link]

Sources[link]

External links[link]

• Central America Video Links from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
• LANIC Central America country pages

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