North-South focus The Summit occurred at a time when previously colonized countries were trying to establish themselves politically domestically and internationally. In the post-war era, unstable economic and political institutions, and the mismanagement of natural resources resulted in poverty and economic shortages. Leading up to the North–South Summit, there were meetings, conferences and reports that directly and indirectly set a foundation for the conference in Cancún. Among them, the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (
UNCTAD) had put together conferences (UNCTAD I–III) throughout the 1970s which established the
G77. This report emphasized the need for a revitalized and efficient cooperation between North and South to reallocate finances and economic resources for quicker development of the South.
Economic The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the
World Bank, two major international financial institutions, took on larger roles in the late 1970s and early 80s. After the
1970s energy crises, the IMF and World Bank started using
structural adjustment programs and other forms of
neoliberal economic policies to assist in the development, mostly in the global South. Leaders in the global South like López Portillo built political will and an intellectual movement towards a
New International Economic Order (NIEO) in the early 1970s. A Charter of Economic Rights and Responsibilities, which had been under discussion at UNCTAD since 1972, served as the vehicle for this. The former economic strategy of export-led and agro-based business growth transitioned to recommendations for a multi-sectoral strategy. Some countries involved in the Non-Aligned Movement helped create the NIEO. The effect of the Cold War was still evident during the formation of the summit as the
Soviet Union chose not to attend the Summit, and
Cuba was excluded at the request of the United States. China and
Yugoslavia were the only communist countries to attend the summit. With President
José López Portillo as a proponent of the NIEO and with the country's post-revolutionist climate, to gain prominence in the international sphere, Cancún became a politically strategic location for the summit.
Preliminary meetings The Cancún Summit was organized by states' Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The first meeting was planned by the foreign ministers of Mexico and Austria at the UN General Assembly's XXXV Session in September 1980. Developed nations such as France, Canada, and Sweden, as well as emerging nations such as Algeria, India, Nigeria, and
Yugoslavia, were invited by the foreign ministers to join a summit in Vienna in November 1980. It was decided in the final statement from the preparation sessions that the conference would be political in character, informal in its processes, and not engage into negotiations but instead provide an opportunity for nations to voice their opinions. The decision to invite Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Guyana, Ivory Coast, Japan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, the United States, Venezuela, and the Soviet Union was made during the Vienna pre-meeting. President Reagan received a personal invitation to Cancún from President López Portillo in an effort to ensure U.S. participation. Foreign ministers from the 22 nations invited to the summit met for the final time before the summit on 1–2 August 1981 in Cancún. Attendees discussed the summit's formal aspects; they did not discuss its content or a specific agenda . == Participants ==