BY THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS
The News
Romanian Ambassador to Mexico Ana Voicu and her husband Iulian Voicu celebrated their country’s national day last month with a reception at the Hacienda de los Morales restaurant in Colonia Polanco.
“Dec. 1, 1918, marked the end of the long process of the drafting of the modern Romanian Constitution,” Ambassador Voicu told her guests at the start of the reception.
“The establishment of the United Principalities (of Moldavia and Wallachia) in 1859 constituted the first, but decisive, step on the path to important social and national reforms, inspiring the Romanian people to fight for their independence in 1877, and it eventually led to the formation of a single Romanian state on Dec. 1, 1918.”
Voicu went on to say that today, after seven years of affiliation in the European Union, Romania is “an important and credible member” of the bloc and is fully convinced that Europe needs to strengthen its ties with partners such as Mexico “in order to promote the message of peace, progress and prosperity.”
“Europe and Mexico have built a broad and lasting relationship based on the fundamental values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights,” Voicu said.
“I am convinced that the merging of bilateral, multilateral and bi-regional themes between the EU and Mexico is a solid anchor that will allow us to look to a shared future with great optimism.”
The envoy said that she was proud to say that the relationship between her country and Mexico is growing, both in the bilateral and multilateral arenas, with multiple two-way agreements and memorandums of understanding in the commercial, economic, political and legal fields.
According to the Mexican Economy Secretariat, combined binational trade between the two countries currently amounts to about $320 million annually.
“There are also new opportunities for cooperation in the areas of environmental protection and sustainable development, particularly regarding matters of climate change,” she said.
“And we can work together on issues of security, education, culture, sports, science, technology and innovation.”
She also said that Romania and Mexico share many common views and objectives in international forums.
“I am quite certain that the friendship between Romania and Mexico will continue to strengthen and that both our countries will benefit from new opportunities and our shared Latin roots,” Voicu said.
The ambassador closed her speech by expressing her personal thanks to and appreciation of the Romanian community in Mexico, which she said have been important pillars of society as teachers, doctors, artists, businessmen and workers.
The local Romanian community in Mexico numbers about 300, most of whom came here during the former Soviet Bloc nation’s communist era.
Dec. 1 marked the 95th anniversary of Romania’s 1918 Greater Union, when the assembly of delegates of ethnic Romanians in Alba Iulia declared the Union of Transylvania with Romania.
That resolution became the historical document that accomplished the Greater Romania, the century-old dream of Romanians to incorporate not only Transylvania, but also Wallachia and Moldavia, which were united earlier under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza in what was called the Smaller Union.
The date also marks the anniversary of the fall of Soviet rule.
While the collapse of European communist rule began with the fall of the Berlin Wall in October 1990, it was not until December that Romania, “the last bastion of communism,” joined in the movement for national independence.
The three provinces that currently make up Romania – Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania – gained their independence from Turkish domination in 1877.
Wallachia and Moldavia became a single state under the Treaty of Berlin in 1878, but it was not until four decades later that the former principality of Transylvania joined the monarchy.
During the First World War, Romania helped Russia in its struggle against Turkey and was awarded with the acquisition of the mountainous province, along with the territories of Bessarabia, Bukovina and Banat on Dec. 1, 1918.
However, in 1940, Romania ceded Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the former Soviet Union, part of southern Dobrudja to Bulgaria and northern Transylvania to Hungary.
Soviet occupation following World War II led to the formation of a communist “peoples republic” in 1947 and the subsequent abdication of the Romanian king.
The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s.
Finally, in 1989, Ceausescu was overthrown and executed.
Former communists continued to dominate the government until 1996, when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of center-right parties.
Romania entered the European Union, along with Bulgaria, in January 2007.
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