On May 23, the leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela met in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, to sign the constitution of the Union of South American Nations. The member nations also sent an invitation for the Caribbean countries to join in the future.
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UNASUR was launched in 2004 to forge greater economic integration and development in South America.
The formalization of the union comes at a time when Latin American integration is speeding up and the region moves toward greater independence from U.S. imperialism. At the meeting, Chilean president Michelle Bachelet assumed the union’s presidency. Quito, Ecuador, was named UNASUR’s capital.
During the ceremony, the leaders of each nation spoke, including Bolivian president Evo Morales. He said that, with the birth of UNASUR, Latin Americans would begin to see “the dreams of our ancestors, of the struggle of our union leaders, our social leaders, politicians who defended our unity, that fought for our independence.”
The stated main goals of the union are to eradicate poverty and illiteracy, and to provide universal access to quality education and health care to the people of the continent.
The new union is proposing various tasks for the future, including the adoption of a single economic market for South America by 2019. The economic goals include developing the continent as a whole—integrating countries that before only traded with the United States, Europe and Japan—and creating a common market that can better meet the needs of the peoples of the region.
As part of the new economic initiatives, last year UNASUR created the Bank of the South. This would allow the union to implement a proposal to establish a common currency.
The union is also planning to work on an energy security plan for the entire continent. Major oil and natural gas pipelines are in the works. New infrastructure would include the construction of transnational highways.
The economic proposal would also introduce a universal South American citizenship, allowing for the free flow of peoples throughout the region.
President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela described the new formation as a union as opposed to integration: “We are talking about union, not integration, because that is a concept that grew out of the project of hegemonic neoliberal globalization. Later on, we developed this conscience that embraces a unitary, originary project based on the project of the Great South American Fatherland.”
Brazilian and Venezuelan leaders proposed a South American Defense Council at the meeting. The defense council would resolve internal disputes, craft a defense strategy for the continent’s economic integration project and protect the continent’s strategic resources.
The defense proposal has been applauded by all the countries in the new union except Colombia, the strongest ally of U.S imperialism in the region. Such a defense initiative would work to strengthen economic cooperation and help defend the union from the disruptions of outside forces, especially from Washington.
On the subject of regional security, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador said, “I think we need a regional security council in order to shift from rhetoric to practice. Let’s not deceive ourselves; to maintain stability in the region, and mutual respect, words are not enough.”
South America has several U.S. military bases. To the alarm of many in the union, Colombia and the United States have proposed a new U.S. base on the Colombia-Venezuela border. The United States has also announced it is reactivating its Fourth Fleet to patrol Latin American waters.
UNASUR is not politically homogeneous. Venezuela may have to take the lead in steering it toward a more progressive direction as some forces within UNASUR focus primarily on extracting benefits for their regional bourgeoisies. Nevertheless, UNASUR member countries are shifting away from dependence on U.S. imperialism and toward dependence on one another—a trend that is progressive in itself.
The creation of organs for political and economic integration and military cooperation in Latin America has the potential to ensure greater independence and strengthened defense capability against imperialist aggression in the region—a move that certainly will be challenged by Washington officials who still consider Latin America their backyard.
