Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (also known as ALCE)[1] is an international space exploration organization based in Mexico, comprising several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region.[2] It was established in 2021 as part of the Latin American space race [es].[3] According to its charter, its objective is to coordinate the space cooperation activities of Latin American and Caribbean countries for the peaceful use and exploration of outer space, the Moon and other celestial bodies.[4]
Origin
The agency first originated on October 9, 2020, when Mexico's foreign secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, and Argentina's foreign minister, Felipe Solá, signed an agreement committing to create a Latin American space agency.[5] On July 24, 2021, within the framework of the XXI Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) held at the Chapultepec Castle in Mexico, this country, which assumed the pro tempore presidency of said organization and was the main promoter of the project, signed together with the member states of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Paraguay an agreement for the creation of the ALCE.[6] Subsequently, on September 18 of that same year, nineteen states signed the Constitutive Agreement of the ALCE within the framework of the VI CELAC Summit of 2021 held at the National Palace of Mexico.[7] Finally, on March 16, 2022, the Mexican Senate ratified the creation of the ALCE headquarters in Mexico, thus formally establishing the agency.[8]
Initial Members of the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE)
Mexico foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, together with the Foreign Ministers of Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Venezuela signed the Convention at its outset. The Convention is designed to remain open for participation by other Latin American and Caribbean countries.[7]
Member States
The nations that make up the ALCE are the following:
^"Agencia Latinoamericana del Espacio comenzará a operar en 2021". DW Español. 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
^"México y cinco países más crean la Agencia Latinoamericana del Espacio". Forbes (in Spanish). 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
^Camhaji, Elías (2020-11-21). "ALCE, el sueño de la conquista latinoamericana del espacio". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-16.
^Santana, Cristian (2022-01-17). "El despegue de la Agencia Latinoamericana del Espacio". Universidad de Navarra (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-16.
^López Pérez, Emilia (2020-10-09). "México y Argentina firman acuerdo para crear la Agencia Espacial Latinoamericana y del Caribe". El Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-16.
^García, Ariadna (2021-06-24). "Integrantes de la CELAC acuerdan crear Agencia Espacial Latinoamericana". El Universal (Mexico) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-16.
^ a b"Signing of the Convention establishing ALCE, the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency". Gobierno de Mexico. September 20, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
^"Ratificaron la creación de la Agencia Latinoamericana y Caribeña del Espacio, que tendrá su sede en México". Infobae. 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
