South America leaders form Prosur to replace defunct Unasur bloc
Seven right-wing presidents of South American nations gathered in Chile's capital Santiago on Friday to announce a new political association dubbed 'Forum for the Progress of South America', or Prosur.
Prosur includes Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Guyana. Leftist governments in Bolivia and Uruguay sent representatives to the Santiago meeting, but did not join the bloc.
The alliance would allow the states to discuss infrastructure, energy, security, health, defense, crime, and response to natural disasters. The bloc would function "without ideology and bureaucracy, but with a total commitment to freedom, democracy and human rights," Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said.
Representatives of Nicolas Maduro's administration in Venezuela were not invited to the meeting in Santiago. One of the essential conditions for entering the bloc is "the full validity of democracy," which would exclude the troubled and politically divided country.
https://www.dw.com/en/south-america-leaders-form-prosur-to-replace-defunct-unasur-bloc/a-48034988
