South America creates regional union

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

South America creates regional union
By MARCO SIBAJA – 2 hours ago

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — A new South American union was born Friday as leaders of the region's 12 nations set out to create a continental parliament.

Some see the new organization, Unasur, as a regional version of the European Union. Summit host Brazil wants it to help coordinate defense affairs across South America and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez calls it a counterweight to the United States.

"The number one enemy of the union of the south is the empire of the United States," Chavez said, claiming that the U.S. is "trying to generate wars in South America" to "divide and conquer."

Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, invited other Latin American and Caribbean nations to join the venture. "Unasur is born, open to all the region, born under the signs of diversity and pluralism," he said.



Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hYwXUkXjzVHgHX9w0W0_F9zJe_DwD90RJB3O0

[Judi Lynn]

1. Reuters: "South American nations launch new policy group"

South American nations launch new policy group
Published: Saturday, 24 May, 2008, 02:06 AM Doha Time

BRASILIA: The leaders of 12 South American nations founded a union yesterday aimed at boosting economic integration and political cohesion in the region, but disagreements stymied ambitious plans on defense and trade.

The heads of states signed a treaty that creates the South American Union of Nations, or Unasur, as well as plans for energy, infrastructure and financing projects.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hailed the organisation, which aspires to become like the European Union, as a sign that South America was becoming a “global actor” and said the differences between governments were a sign of vitality.

Unasur includes a revolving presidency, bi-annual meetings of foreign ministers and a parliament in Bolivia. – Reuters

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=220231&version=1&template_id=43&parent_id=19

[ozymandius]

2. I applaud self-determination of any kind.

So long as self-determination comes with electoral, peaceful consent.

[mdmc]

23. agreed

solidarity

[Arctic Dave]

3. Bush and his cohorts must be beside themselves

I'm glad to see South America took advantage of the opportunity to get out from under the US boot while we were obsessing over Iraq. This could be the best thing that has happened them in decades. Peace and good luck to all of them.

[rurallib]

4. No kidding - they are probably dispatcing CIA to foment

disunion as we speak.

[Peace Patriot]

11. Or Barack Obama. Did you read/hear his speech on Cuba and Latin America

today in Miami? It included all the Bushite "talking points" demonizing President Chavez (Venezuela) and President Correa (Ecuador), potential SANCTIONS if they turn out to be terrorist-lovers--God the nerve of it!--continued funding for the murderous fascists in Colombia, and for the failed and vastly corrupt "war on drugs," and trying to split off Brazil, Argentina and a few others from their Bolivarian allies, with goodies dropped from our empty larder and more Peace Corps volunteers (and consulates for CIA spying).

Really, I felt like I was reading some shit by George Bush or Donald Rumsfeld.

Granted, he was speaking to foaming-at-the-mouth anti-Castro, anti-"Hugo" Miami fascists, and I have to give him credit for even walking into that forum. And he does continue to say that he will TALK TO people, even our "enemies." That's good. That's better than plotting Oil War II. But the "Manifest Destiny" thing is still there--the U.S. destined to lead those muddled masses down south who vote for "demagogues" and "authoritarians," time and again, in big numbers, and really can't decide for themselves what's better: getting chainsawed and your body parts thrown into a mass grave (Colombia), or getting a decent wage, being able to put food on the table, and living to an old age to enjoy your grandchildren (Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia--the leaders of the social justice movement in South America). Poor dumb peasants. They really need U.S. "leadership."

Oh, and he did acknowledge that Hugo Chavez was ELECTED, but he didn't say that Hugo Chavez can prove it, and that nobody in elected office in the U.S. of A.--including Obama himself--can do that.

Yup, I'm steamed. Better than an Oil War. That's all I can say about it.

[annabanana]

24. It is depressing that

the policy differs so little from candidate to candidate. Obama did acknowledge the existence of RW paramilitary thugs and put them on a list of things that should not be. and it didn't sound as absolutist as has been the case coming out of the State Dept. for so long. It's not much, but perhaps there's places to build on...

[AlphaCentauri]

27. for latin america there arre no democratic or republican party

only paternalistic policies

[earth mom]

29. Wow-is this info posted on DU? Or is it buried on page 100 in LBN or GD?!

Argh-I'm steamed about it too! :grr:

[Judi Lynn]

30. One thread made it in LBN, by Alpha Centauri:

Castro calls Obama speech "formula for hunger"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3326063

Two others were posted in the Latin America section, by magbana:

Exiles Cheer Obama
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3326063

Transcript of Obama Speech to Cuban American National Foundation
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=405&topic_id=4546

[SpiralHawk]

5. Nice piece of work, Commander AWOL. Not

They all hate you, Commander AWOL Bush, and fear you and the ugly Imperial Republicon Homeland you and your cronies have forced upon North America....

Nice piece of work, you clod, you.

[mac2]

6. If the American President can do it why not the S. Americans?

I knew it wouldn't be long before these huge unions would be fighting each other. Bush has distrubed the peace of the world.

No one asked the people.

[HawkerHurricane]

7. Two articles, and no mention of...

WHICH 12 nations. OK, Brazil, Venezuala, Columbia... who else? Who isn't talking?

[Judi Lynn]

9. Here they are, from Wikipedia:

Union of South American Nations

The Union of South American Nations (Dutch: Unie van Zuid-Amerikaanse Naties, Portuguese: União de Nações Sul-Americanas, Spanish: Unión de Naciones Suramericanas, and abbreviated as Unasur and Unasul) is a supranational and intergovernmental union that will unite two existing free-trade organizations – Mercosur and the Andean Community – as part of a continuing process of South American integration. It is modelled on the European Union.

The Unasur/Unasul constitutive treaty was signed on May 23, 2008 at the Third Summit of Heads of State, held in Brasília, Brazil. <2> At the summit, the Brazilian delegation proposed the establishment of a South American Defense Council.<3> The rotating presidency for 2008-2009, to be held by Colombia, was passed on to the next in line (alphabetically), Chile as Colombia decided to forfeit the right pending issues with Venezuela and Ecuador. Chile said it would accept pending consensus.

According to the Constitutive Treaty, the Union's headquarters will be located in Quito, Equador. The South American Parliament will be located in Cochabamba, Bolivia, while the location of its bank, the Bank of the South (Dutch: Bank van het Zuiden, Portuguese: Banco do Sul, Spanish: Banco del Sur), will be located in Caracas, Venezuela.<4> The Union's former designation, the South American Community of Nations (Dutch: Zuid-Amerikaanse Statengemeenschap, Portuguese: Comunidade Sul-Americana de Nações, and Spanish: Comunidad Sudamericana de Naciones), abbreviated as CSN; was dropped at the First South American Energy Summit on April 16, 2007.<5>
(snip)



Participating nations

Full members
Members of the Andean Community (CAN)¹:
Bolivia (started in 2006 the process of joining Mercosur)
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Members of Mercosur²:
Argentina
Brazil
Paraguay
Uruguay
Venezuela
Other countries:
Guyana³
Suriname³
Chile¹ ²

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_American_Nations

[Peace Patriot]

14. Thank you, Judi! I think Colombia got told, "fuck off til you stop causing trouble."

They did not relinquish the rotating presidency voluntarily, is my guess.

Fascinating WHERE it's all going to be headquartered:

Headquarters in Ecuador: leftist Rafael Correa elected a couple of years ago, with 60% of the vote, very popular guy, intends to kick the U.S. military base out of his country.

Parliament in Bolivia: in Cochabomba, where the fired up social movement kicked Bechtel out of their country, which led to the election of Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia.

Bank of the South in Venezuela: who initiated the idea; regional financing of development projects; this bank has already pretty much kicked the World Bank/IMF loan sharks out of the continent.

I wonder where the South American Defense Council is going to be headquartered. That is one of the most fascinating developments--proposed by Brazil. The South Americans are apparently worried--and have reason to be--about U.S. and/or Bush Cartel aggression.

Barack Obama was right about one thing, in his speech (besides the fact that Chavez was ELECTED): Our corporate rulers have reason to be worried that South America ain't gonna permit any more bullshit--whether economic or military aggression. So we better make nice --and try to make our "divide and conquer" tactics a little more diplomatic.

God his speech irritated me. I know, I know. It's better than an Oil War.

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. thank you for the great details....

I may seriously re-consider moving to So. America.


any recommendations?

[On the Road]

22. Venezuela's Actually Pretty Nice

There's a bit less of a poverty gap and violent crime is not as high as, eg, some places in Brazil. And you have a choice of modern metro areas, Caribbean coast, Andes, cattle country or rainforest.

Because oil is subsidized, it's fairly cheap to fly there. If you're serious, PM me and I can send you some stuff.

[eridani]

18. You don't get to be one of the presidential finalists without having been vetted--

--by the sociopathic thugs of our ruling elite. My support for him is based solely on the fact of his getting more people involved in politics.

[robinlynne]

10. 12 nations pretty much covers the entire continent.

[HawkerHurricane]

16. So it does.

I must have miscounted...
(or counted the ports visited instead of the countries visited...)

[On the Road]

21. That *Is* a Pretty Glaring Omission, Isn't It?

You would think the AP would show more respect for its readers.

[Unvanguard]

8. This is a good thing. Especially if it leads to economic integration.

"Comparative advantage" in terms that could really work.

[NM Independent]

12. Woah...

:wow:

Somewhere Dick in Bush just shat a couple golden bricks and made themselves much richer.

No matter what happens, those assholes always win.

[Pastiche423]

13. A groundbreaking day for South America

Congrats and peace be w/you!

[Judi Lynn]

17. AFP: "South American nations launch new policy group"

South American nations launch new policy group
9 hours ago

BRASILIA (AFP) — Leaders of 12 South American nations on Friday signed a treaty to launch a Union of South American Nations, seeking foreign policy alignment and better relations among neighbors.

With oil prices soaring, countries were discussing how to boost energy policy coordination as well as cooperation on social and educational policies through the group, which was to have a parliament in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba.

The union, a forum where emerging world player Brazil can likely press its growing regional influence, groups Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. In all, 388 million people live in those countries.

Only the French overseas territory of French Guiana was not involved.

"We leaders in the region know that current disagreements ... are fleeting, and that together, we are more sovereign," said host Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, alluding to strains between Colombia's conservative US-backed government and the leftist governments of Ecuador and Venezuela.

More:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jAct82ez4onhnb61n-FeXZqXMoIQ

[New Dawn]

19. LOL, so much for global empire.

Welcome to multi-polarity.

[OneBlueSky]

20. but . . . but . . . but . . .THAT's not part of the program! . . .

how are we ever going to create the New World Order if groups of nations go off and organize on their own without our "guidance?" . . . get with the program, South America! . . . WE know what's good for you far more than you do! . . .
:sarcasm:

[Judi Lynn]

25. United South America Will Change World's Power Balance, Says Brazil

United South America Will Change World's Power Balance, Says Brazil
Written by Yara Aquino
Friday, 30 May 2008

Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, upon inviting presidents of the South American countries to sign the Constitutional Treaty that creates the Unasur (Union of South American Nations), last Friday, May 23. in the Brazilian capital Brasília, stated that the organization is going to influence international political relations.

"A united South America is going to change positions in the chessboard of global power, not to the benefit of one or the other, but to the benefit of all."
(snip)

The creation of the South American Defense Council was brought up by Lula. According to him, a concept of defense must be devised for the region based in common values and principles, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each nation. Lula invited the countries to hold a meeting in Brazil in the second half of the year to discuss the aims and workings of the council.

Lula also summoned all Latin American and Caribbean countries to become members of the union. "Thus the Unasur is born, open to the entire region," he asserted.

The meeting was attended by the presidents of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner, of Chile, Michele Bachelet, of Bolivia, Evo Morales, of Brazil, Lula, of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe, of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, of the Guiana, Bharrat Jagdeo, of Paraguay, Nicanor Duarte Frutos - and the elected president Fernando Lugo, of Peru, Alan Garcia, of Suriname, Ronald Venetiaan, of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and the vice-president of Uruguay, Rodolfo Nin Novoa.

http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/9365/

[Judi Lynn]

26. South America creates regional union

South America creates regional union

by Marco Sibaja, Associated Press Writer
A new South American union was born Friday as leaders of the region's 12 nations set out to create a continental parliament.
Some see the new organization, Unasur, as a regional version of the European Union. Summit host Brazil wants it to help coordinate defense affairs across South America and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez calls it a counterweight to the United States.

"The number one enemy of the union of the south is the empire of the United States," Chavez said, claiming that the U.S. is "trying to generate wars in South America" to "divide and conquer."

Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, invited other Latin American and Caribbean nations to join the venture. "Unasur is born, open to all the region, born under the signs of diversity and pluralism," he said.

But South American leaders still found their own reasons for division.

Unasur's first secretary-general, Rodrigo Borja, resigned Thursday before the organization formally met. He complained that some leaders had balked at his vision of putting other regional trade blocs, including Mercosur and the Andean Community, under Unasur.

Leaders were also split over plans for a South American Defense Council that would resolve conflicts, promote military cooperation and possibly coordinate joint weapons production.

JJS: Would be even better if they’d coordinate joint weapons destruction, since their armies almost never defend against any invader but mostly, many times over, only kill their own civilians. Well, maybe later, they can do what Costa Rica did and disband their army, something all nations could eventually follow. Meanwhile…

Colombia is the only nation that opposes joining such a council, saying "the terrorist threat" it faces at home, amid 40 years of civil conflict, precludes military cooperation. Even so, a government statement added, "Colombia does not oppose the creation of a working group to study the theme."

More:
http://www.progress.org/2008/union.htm

[tom_paine]

28. Whatever one might think of Chavez, he's correct.

"The number one enemy of the union of the south is the empire of the United States," Chavez said, claiming that the U.S. is "trying to generate wars in South America" to "divide and conquer."

Usually, his over-the-top hyperbole bothers me, but this is not hyperbole in the least.

The one thing Bushies hate more than the freedom of we Amerikan Serfs, is brown people freeing themselves from Bushie Corproate Domination.

[The2ndWheel]

31. Consolidation of corporate and state power

Works the same way in each case. Whether it's a corporate merger, or multiple governments merging, actual people just become more of a number and cog each time. We increasingly live for the expansion of the corporation, and the expansion of the state, and the endgame of that must be the total merging of the corporation and the state, since too much energy is wasted in the two dominant instituions of our day constantly butting heads.