South American Union - More Proactive Stance Needed

• by Marcela Valente* (buenos aires)
• Monday, May 03, 2010
• Inter Press Service

'So far, UNASUR has been fairly effective -- within the limits of its own design -- at containing public evils, but not at boosting the public good,' Federico Merke, professor of international relations theory at the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, told IPS.

This was his summary of the brief history and prospects of UNASUR, created in May 2008 in Brasilia and made up of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The member countries' leaders are meeting in Campana, in Buenos Aires province, about 60 kilometres northwest of the Argentine capital.

The summit will discuss aid for Haiti and Chile, which were devastated by earthquakes this year, as well as the election of the bloc's secretary general, and move forward on issues to do with 'the present political, social and economic circumstances of the member countries,' according to the Argentine Foreign Ministry.

'The agenda follows the same logic as that of previous meetings,' said Merke. 'We are always behind the events, and this meeting is just the same. There is no proactive agenda to make progress on issues like infrastructure or cooperation for development, which are not on UNASUR's agenda yet.'

Argentine political scientist and sociologist Atilio Borón, professor of political theory at the state University of Buenos Aires, told IPS that UNASUR 'is a very important initiative that needs to consolidate its institutional foundations, elect its secretary, and expand ratification' by its members of the founding treaty.

So far, only five out of UNASUR's 12 national parliaments have ratified the treaty: those of Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela. Parliamentary approval in nine countries is necessary for it to enter into force.

In Borón's view, UNASUR must advance towards its institutional consolidation, and it should monitor the agreement between Colombia and the United States allowing Washington to use seven Colombian military bases.

This bilateral agreement sparked controversy and concern among Colombia's neighbours, prompting an extraordinary summit of UNASUR, held in the southern Argentine mountain resort of Bariloche in August 2009.

At that meeting, the South American presidents asked Colombia to spell out the contents of the agreement in detail, but very little information has been forthcoming. 'It is worrying that this topic is not on the agenda,' Borón said.

In April, Brazil signed a military cooperation agreement with the United States, but in this case the details of the agreement were circulated to the UNASUR partners, and no conflicts are anticipated when the presidents discuss it.

Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said, 'If the information (about the Brasilia-Washington agreement) is transparent, there will be no reason for us to be touchy about it…It's not the same as Colombia's (agreement),' he said.

Merke said that there has been progress in UNASUR's Defence Council, which was set up to 'head off risks of bilateral tensions and promote cooperation between the states.' But, he wondered, 'what if the child (the Council) should get ahead of the parent?'

UNASUR's Defence Council, founded in December 2008, has its own statutes and will be in charge of monitoring the military agreement between Bogotá and Washington. But the absence of a Secretariat to plan programmes, schedules and responsibilities makes it 'very difficult to coordinate anything,' Merke said.

In order to have a solid grounding and avoid being ineffectual, UNASUR needs more institutional support from its members, he said.

'Otherwise the bloc may bite off more than it can chew,' he warned. 'Getting together to repudiate the (June 2009) coup in Honduras is no bad thing, but then, what actual difference did it make?' asked Merke, who admits he is sceptical about substantial progress being made at the Campana summit.

Merke and Barón deplored UNASUR's institutional weakness, due especially to the lack of ratifications by member countries and the delay in appointing a secretary-general, who may be elected at the summit if a consensus is achieved.

The candidate is former Argentine president Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), the husband of current President Cristina Fernández, whose appointment has been formally opposed by the Uruguayan government because of the longstanding bilateral conflict over a pulp mill installed on the Uruguayan bank of a border river.

Other members may be reluctant to agree to his appointment for less explicit reasons.

In Merke's view, Kirchner's candidacy reflects a shortage 'in the supply of available leadership,' but the former president 'can be regarded as a moderate' between opposed radical tendencies headed by left-wing Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and right-wing Colombian President Álvaro Uribe.

In a more upbeat tone, Paz Milet of the Institute of International Studies at the state University of Chile told IPS that 'UNASUR has had difficulty in consolidating itself, but in the last few weeks Ecuador has been very active on the diplomatic front to secure more ratifications (of the treaty) and a consensus on Kirchner's candidacy.'

The Chilean analyst said bilateral problems were unlikely to be solved at Campana, but she emphasised the ability of UNASUR to 'position itself as a very effective forum for dialogue,' as it did in 2008 in response to the Bolivian political crisis.

Meanwhile, Merke did not rule out the possibility that the summit would address the situation in Honduras. Most UNASUR countries broke off relations with Honduras at the time of the Jun. 28 coup, and do not recognise the government of President Porfirio Lobo, who took power in January.

Nor is it impossible that Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo might raise the topic of the armed insurgency in the north of his country, which led him to declare a state of emergency in five provinces and deploy the army to combat the small rebel group.

But Merke said that if these issues are addressed, it will be within the framework of present circumstances, and not as part of a much-needed long-term focus on development.

* With additional reporting by Daniela Estrada in Santiago.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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