Since February 1, 1993, the Central American states have been governed by the Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA), also known as the Central American Integration System. The Organización de Estados Centroamericanos (ODECA) nations signed the Protocol of Tegucigalpa on December 13, 1991, expanding past collaboration for regional peace, political freedom, democracy, and economic development. In its resolution A/48L on December 10, 1993, the General Assembly of the United Nations endorsed SICA. San Salvador, El Salvador, is where the administrative center is situated. SICA is a member of the UN.
Member countries
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama were all part of the SICA’s institutional structure in 1991. The Dominican Republic became an affiliated state in 2004 and a full member in 2013, while Belize joined as a full member in 1998. The Republic of China, Spain, Germany, and Japan joined the organization as extra-regional observers, while Mexico, Chile, and Brazil joined as regional observers. SICA keeps offices at UN Headquarters and receives a standing invitation to attend General Assembly sessions as an observer. The Central America Four, also known as the CA-4, is a group of four nations (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua) that are undergoing political, cultural, and migrant integration. The CA-4 has established common internal borders and the same kind of passport. Later, for the sake of economic union, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic joined the CA-4.
Regional and Extra-regional observers
SICA’s regional observers are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay. Australia, Egypt, the European Union, France, Georgia, Germany, the Holy See, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Morocco, New Zealand, the Order of Malta, Qatar, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom are the extra-regional observers.
Unified Central American currency
Although the Central American Bank for Economic Integration has not yet done so, dollarization is a possibility. The US Dollar is frequently referred to as the “Central American Peso,” which is tied 1:1 to the US Dollar, for formal purposes. This money does not consist of coins or notes, and it is hardly known outside of the legal community. Central America’s social, political, and economic integration are all advancing as a result of the region’s growing economic prosperity. Although the region’s output is diverse and its pricing and wage structures are flexible, there is a lack of business cycle synchronization, varying public sector debt levels, divergent inflation rates, and little intra-regional trade.
Policy integration
The parliamentary group is considering ideas to classify regional air travel as domestic travel, do away with roaming charges for phone calls, and establish a regional prison (associated with the Central American Court of Justice) to deal with domestic and international trafficking.
Central American Parliament
As an imitation of the Federal Republic of Central America, the Central American Parliament, Parlacen, was established, with Costa Rica as a spectator. It developed from the Contadora Group, an initiative started in the 1980s to address the civil wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Despite the Contadora Group’s dissolution in 1986, several countries’ constitutions make tacit mention of Central American integration. A Central American Parliament made up of 20–22 directly elected representatives from each nation was agreed upon (among other things) in the Esquipulas Peace Agreement. Costa Rica is not a member of the Parlacen and has not ratified the agreement. Some people consider Parlacen to be a white elephant, including former Honduran President Ricardo Maduro.
Court of Justice for Central America
The goal of the Central America Court of Justice (CCJ) is to uphold member-state unity and regional peace. Instances that may be heard by the court are cases:
- between two or more members of the alliance
- between a member state and a non-member state that consents to the court’s jurisdiction
- between members of the alliance and a member state resident
- relating to the integration process between SICA and member countries or individuals
The court may invite the top courts of the area for a consultation. In 2005, Nicaraguan parliament reforms took away President Enrique Bolaos’ jurisdiction over water, energy, and telecommunications. The court ruled this case to be legally inapplicable. The CCJ heard its first case in 1994. It had issued more than 70 resolutions since then.
