S. American Leaders Aim for EU-Like Body

[NVMojo]

this should cause some trouble for those who exploit SA natural resources and no money goes to the people in those countries ...

COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (AP) -

South American leaders agreed Saturday to create a high-level commission to study the idea of forming a continent-wide community similar to the European Union.

The presidents and envoys of 12 nations wrapped up a two-day summit of the South American Community of Nations, hosted by Bolivian President Evo Morales in Cochabamba, a city tucked between the Andes and the Amazon in the heart of the continent.

"We seek that South America be forever a region of peace that works to solve the economic problems of its historically abandoned majority," Morales said.

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-sa/2006/dec/09/120908685.html

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Hope they will consider making it "Latin America" instead of just SA.

Of course, Mexico may not be the most welcome candidate right now.

[Peace Patriot]

2. Oh, I think that's coming. The majority in Mexico is going to win, in the end.

A lot of work to be done in Guatemala and Honduras--real basketcases of fascism and exploitation (worse even than Mexico, where a huge, peaceful, democracy movement is in progress).

In So. America, Peru is next. A leftist (majorityist) came out of nowhere this year, with no experience and no money, and almost won. He'll be back. (Ollanta Humala.)

That leaves only Colombia--which just got a Bushite infusion of $600 million in military aid (our tax money)--and it's hard to believe it's not going to be used to make trouble for the Andean democracies (Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Oh, and I forget Paraguay, which could be the Bush Junta launching pad.

Aside from these problem countries, the South Americans are really getting it together. It is a wonderful thing to see. And, yes, I think it will eventually include Central America. (Daniel Ortega is already hobnobbing with the new leftist leaders of S/A.)

I know a small interesting tidbit (well, not so small) about all this. The World Bank/IMF had Argentina by the throat--onerous loans, demands to scuttle social programs, etc. The Argentines rebelled. A coalition of the poor and middle class went round with tiny hammers and broke every bank ATM display window in the country, in protest. Three governments later--in quick succession--they finally got a leftist government to pledge getting out of World Bank debt and never get into it again. Enter Huge Chavez and Venezuela. They bought up a chunk of the debt on easy terms, and soon Argentina was free of it. Next thing we hear, that--BECAUSE of the recovery of Argentina's economy--it had entered talks with Brazil about a common currency, like the euro.

Regional cooperation. Regional self-determination. One country's generosity acting for mutual benefit. (And I think Argentina is providing beef in return--Venezuela is not food self-sufficient yet.)

This is a big, big sea change in South American politics.

[Vidar]

3. Wonderful anecdote about the Argentines & the ATM machines.

I love the idea of a Latin American "EU". Chavez, Morales, Ortega, Obrador & the other leaders are heroes & worthy successors to Bolivar's mantle.

[Peace Patriot]

4. Indeed, they are heroes, and so are the people who support them,

perhaps even more than the leaders themselves. This leftist revolution in South America is from the ground up. It reflects the work of many thousands of people on civic projects like transparent elections, and grass roots community organization. It's so ludicrous when our corporate news monopolies focus on one personality like Chavez (though Chavez does clown it up a bit). It's a tremendous social revolution that is occurring, of which the elected leaders are an expression.

[eppur_se_muova]

13. Hmmm...now I think I understand the Repuke panic over immigration...

these are LEFTIST immigrants! No wonder they've got their panties in a bunch!

[Judi Lynn]

5. Also, remember the new guy, Ecuador's Rafaél Correa! Woohooooooo. Hoooooo.

The Rise of Rafael Correa Ecuador and the Contradictions of Chavismo
by Nikolas Kozloff
November 29, 2006

CounterPunch Printer Friendly Version
EMail Article to a Friend

It now looks as if Rafael Correa, a leftist candidate in Ecuador, has handily won his country's presidential election. As of Monday morning, with about 21 percent of the ballot counted, Correa had 65 percent compared to 35 percent for Alvaro Noboa, according to Ecuador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal. If Correa wins, he will preside over Ecuador for a four year term.


It's yet another feather in the cap for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who had long cultivated the aspiring leader's support. What's more, it's a stinging blow against the Bush administration which now must confront a much more unenviable political milieu in the region. Ecuador now joins other left leaning regimes such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Chile, all of which are sympathetic to Chavez.

Bush cannot dismiss the Correa victory as inconsequential: Ecuador is currently the second largest South American exporter of crude to the U.S. The small Andean country hosts the only U.S. military base in South America, where 400 troops are currently stationed. Correa opposes an extension of the U.S. lease at the air base in Manta, which serves as a staging ground for drug surveillance flights. The U.S. lease expires in 2009.

"If they want," Correa has said ironically, "we won't close the base in 2009, but the United States would have to allow us to have an Ecuadoran base in Miami in return."
(snip)
Correa pursued an amusing campaign. During rallies, he would bounce on stage to his campaign anthem, set to the tune of Twisted Sister's "We're Not Going to Take It." As the music blared, Correa would break out a brown leather belt, which he would flex along to the music.

For Correa, the belt became the chief slogan of his campaign: "Dale Correa." In Spanish, the phrase means "Give Them the Belt." Correa promised to use that belt to whip Ecuador's politicians into shape.
(snip/...)

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=11502

[Vidar]

8. Absolutely.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

21. Is it just me or does he look like a younger Jean-Claude van Damme with black hair? -nt

[Judi Lynn]

6. Info. on Bush's meddling in Nicaragua's affairs prior to the last election.

Of course this pattern has been repeated with other poor countries in Latin America, as well:

Eleventh-Hour Election Meddling in Nicaragua
Ben Beachy | November 1, 2006

~snip~
This U.S. intervention, however, has failed to unite Nicaragua's divided right wing or to detract significantly from Ortega's base. Now U.S. meddlers are flustered and desperate in the face of recent polls revealing that Ortega is within a few percentage points of clinching the presidential office.

In a last-ditch effort to undermine Ortega, Cong. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), chairman of the House's International Relations Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, sent a letter on October 27 to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Rohrabacher enjoined Chertoff “to prepare in accordance with U.S. law, contingency plans to block any further money remittances from being sent to Nicaragua in the event that the FSLN enters government.”

The nearly half million Nicaraguans currently living in the United States send around $500 million each year to their family members in Nicaragua.

Nicaraguans have reason to believe Rohrabacher may not be bluffing. In the build-up to Nicaragua's 1990 elections, the United States warned Nicaraguan voters that it would continue fueling the contra war and maintain its economic embargo on Nicaragua—both of which were wreaking havoc on Nicaragua's economy—if Daniel Ortega were re-elected president.

Beleaguered by a crippling war, food rationing, and empty supermarket shelves, many Nicaraguans opted for U.S.-backed Violeta Chamorro over Ortega. Satisfied, the United States then released its stranglehold on the Nicaraguan economy.

Seeing that the FSLN now has a chance to return to power, Rohrabacher once again proposes that the U.S. government target Nicaraguans—this time by cutting the nation off from much-needed family funds. Thousands of Nicaraguan families depend on remittances to augment the meager wages paid for picking coffee, sewing jeans in assembly factories, or selling water at intersections.

In an economy sacked with underemployment, stagnant salaries, and rising costs, remittances keep Nicaragua afloat by generating an income equivalent to 70% of the country's total annual exports. Economist Nestor Avendaño projects that a U.S. embargo on remittances would prove as disastrous for Nicaraguans as was the U.S.-imposed trade embargo of the 1980s. The hardest hit of a remittance ban would be the impoverished majority.

Nicaraguans' dependence on remittances is what makes his threat so potent—and so grossly unfair. In the face of a potential Ortega victory, Rohrabacher is striving to make longstanding U.S. interference more personal by pushing Nicaraguans to see a vote for Ortega as a vote against their own pocketbooks.

Rohrabacher's letter is but one voice in a cacophony of recent U.S. meddling. Over the last week newspapers in Managua have been laden with unsolicited U.S. opinions about Daniel Ortega and about the sort of president Nicaraguans should want.
(snip/...)

http://americas.irc-online.org/am/3658

[David Zephyr]

15. Joyous over Evo's meeting in Bolivia

A South American Parliament? My dreams may come true.

[Zhade]

10. It really is fantastic, isn't it?

Somedays I actually feel hopeful for the future of the world!

Great tidbit, PP. Thanks for sharing it.

[knight_of_the_star]

7. Bolivar would smile if he was still alive

Looks like his dream of South American unity is being realized.

[Zhade]

9. That's HUGE!

Wow!

Some amazing news today!

[Say_What]

11. A natural and logical evolution for LatAm... here's a background article

from last July published by COHA.

<clips>

...Bolivia Proposes CAN-MERCOSUR Union

President Evo Morales of Bolivia, now a close friend of Chávez and Castro, attended the MERSOSUR summit as a representative of his associate member nation and proposed linking the Andean Community with MERCOSUR. This possibility will depend largely on the group’s decisions regarding integration with the United States. Presently, the CAN countries are hesitant to join with Washington in a coherent integration plan beyond the preferential tariff rates offered by the U.S. under the terms of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA), set to expire on December 31. This preferential treatment accord is unlikely to be extended given Bolivia’s recent nationalization of its energy resources and what Washington perceives as other damaging economic decisions coming from La Paz and Quito. In the absence of the ATPDEA, MERCOSUR might more readily entertain proposals to form a multilateral agreement with CAN. This window of opportunity for these two important South American blocs may be fleeting as U.S. officials hope to wrap up bilateral trade agreements in short order with Columbia and Peru. Nearby Bolivia, still free from binding agreements with the United States, made it clear in Córdoba that it would rather see the group create ties with MERCOSUR, in which heads of state wholeheartedly supported solidarity for a united “Mercoamerica” (Lula).

...MERCOSUR Turning to Europe?
Little discussion of Europe was heard in Córdoba, but previous dialogue has made it clear that MERCOSUR prefers to pursue greater global integration via the European Union (EU) rather than the United States. Although representatives of the two trade bodies have been largely unsuccessful in producing any real progress since their first meeting in 1999, they continue to look for ways to overcome persisting differences. These questions have mainly concerned MERCOSUR’s remaining internal tariffs and the EU’s unyielding agriculture protection measures. Since MERCOSUR’s heavies refuse to continue negotiations toward an FTAA, their persistence with EU negotiations reveals a clear preference for Europe over Washington. Still, greater integration will likely come about first within the hemisphere, especially as ties with Cuba and Mexico came to the forefront last week in Córdoba.

MERCOSUR’s Future
After a short two days in Córdoba, MERCOSUR has clearly emerged as the regional counter-weight to U.S. preeminence in South America’s economic development and trade relations. With the formal inclusion of Venezuela and movements made to dispel rumors that Paraguay and Uruguay are disgruntled with the group to the point of abandonment in favor of U.S. ties, MERCOSUR is poised to foster South American solidarity without acquiescing to Washington’s hopes for a hemispheric FTAA. Indeed, the MERCOSUR leaders spoke of improving internal relations and expanding their ranks with more like-minded partners such as Cuba, Mexico and the Andean Community, as well as integrating non-governmental groups, to address not only economic development, but also to merge the bloc politically — a feat that is indicative of a lasting, deepening and more mature alliance.

http://www.coha.org/2006/07/25/coha-report-mercosur-presidential-summit-concludes-with-high-hopes/

[phusion]

12. Sounds like a great idea...

I'd love to see it come to fruition!

[David Zephyr]

14. Simon Bolivar and Che's dream! And in Bolivia, too! Wonderful news!

Here's hoping this happens.

I hope that the South American nations choose Bolivia to house its Parliament.

The nation named after Bolivar and where Che gave his life against imperialism against South America: Bolivia!

[nerddem]

16. except that they have very little in common

morales would denounce bolivar as a neoliberal (even though he's old school, so just plain liberal i guess) if he were alive today. that was kind of the point of the revolution, a lot like here, it wasn't so much hatred of spain, but it was the advancement of liberalism and ideally a replication of the american revolution.

a south american eu would indeed be bolivar's dream, because that necessarily implies a free market economy, which the eu is based on, and which bolivar adamantly supported, including all of the individual rights (implying government protections of labor, anti-discrimination, etc) necessary to make a market system work properly.

this is what che and morales are against.

i also reiterate my disappointment with morales in not choosing a homegrown leftist hero to laud, there are so many in bolivian history to go with, and, considering ethnicity is so important to him, why didn't he choose someone who was actually indian as well? this whole che thing really annoys me.

[David Zephyr]

18. Sorry you have such a low opinion of Che.

I think he towers as the most important political figure of the 20th century. I also lived in Bolivia and go back often. I also lived in Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Guatemala. Lived, not toured. My dad was a petro/chemical engineer. Half of my youth was in Latin America, the other half here in the U.S. I attended grade school in Che's hometown of Rosario.

In any event, eliminating visas for travel between the great nations of South America is a good firsts step toward a political and economic union.

I imagine that any parliament would be in Bolivia and probably not La Paz because it is the national capital and not Santa Cruz because Evo's enemies are there, so most likely sweet little Cochabamba where the meeting took place.

I have an extensive library on Che. Could I recommend that you read the outstanding bio by
Paco Ignacio Taibo II titled 'Ernesto Guevara, también conocido como el Che' (Ernesto Guevara: Also Known as Che)?

[Judi Lynn]

19. Ha! I would NOT "misunderestimate" your knowledge of your subject.

I think your basic D.U. reader can damned well recognize you know whereof you speak. I've never seen you make any wild and wooly speculations or conjectures yet, and it's doubtful you will!

[David Zephyr]

20. Gracias, Judi Lynn

[The2ndWheel]

17. It's how the US became a world power

We wouldn't be if these 50 states weren't united. That's what the EU is going for too.

It's a consolidation of power, which, in the long run, will kill diversity. But that's the general trend of this thing we call civilization anyway.