Mexican president pitches regional block similar to European Union

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks before the traditional military parade to mark the bicentennial of Mexico's Independence from Spain, and ahead of the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), at the Zocalo square in Mexico City, Mexico September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Gustavo Graf

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Latin American and Caribbean nations should aspire to a regional block similar to the European Union, Mexico's president said on Saturday, in a bid to wrest diplomatic influence away from the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS).

The host of the summit, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, told nearly 20 presidents and prime ministers attending the meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) at the gathering's opening ceremony that the block could better boost the region's inequality-stricken economies as well as confront health and other crisis.