- Title: URUGUAY: Politics not economics dominates South American trade bloc meeting
- Date: 19th December 2007
- Summary: VARIOUS OF PRESIDENTS ARRIVING VENEZUELA'S HUGO CHAVEZ ARRIVING ARGENTINA'S CRISTINA FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER ARRIVING BRAZIL'S LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA ARRIVING PARAGUAY'S NICANOR FRUTOS ARRIVING
- Embargoed: 3rd January 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Uruguay
- Country: Uruguay
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA8GTYZEL4KPIDERYI4VJ8KIOAJ
- Story Text: Several Latin American leaders attend a summit for the South American trade bloc Mercosur, and sign a free-trade agreement with Israel.
Several Latin American presidents gathered on Tuesday (December 18) in Uruguay for a meeting of the economic bloc Mercosur.
But it was politics rather than economics that dominated morning talks in the capital Montevideo.
The bloc joins together the countries of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez also attended, with Bachelet calling for greater regional unity.
"We have reiterated the necessity for respect between countries.
Which includes a respect for the way in which agreements are reached despite our legitimate differences, differences that have always existed, exist now and will continue to exist. But I believe that our challenge and a possibility is a unity of difference," Bachelet said.
The bloc is also waiting anxiously for Brazil and Paraguay to allow Venezuela to join up as a full-fledged member of the group.
Venezuela's enormous reserves of petroleum and gas is considered a key to the region's plans for integration in energy. But in Brazil, opposition congressman facing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are resisting the move, scared Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will use the position to lever his socialist revolution through the region.
President Chavez said he was keen to lend a hand.
"Venezuela wants to join Mercosur to help more than anything. That is what motivates us: to help, to modestly help. We want to join ourselves, add ourselves and our modest powers to the great power of the southern union.
I believe that on the destiny of Mercosur depends the destiny of South America," Chavez said.
Argentine President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner took over the group's presidency, which up until now has been under the mandate of Uruguay.
Fernandez will run the group over the next 12 months.
She used the opportunity to make another veiled criticism of the United States, echoing comments from Chavez on Monday that the White House is trying to divide Latin America over an airport cash scandal.
"I believe that politics isn't dirty. I believe that some people that are in politics in our countries and outside our countries are the ones that conduct dirty operations and dirty politics in the region. And we have to be very serious about that. We don't need to explode over the issue but we do need a firm, sincere and genuine discourse that they will not try to compel us. They will not compel us," Fernandez said.
The presidents also showed their support for Bolivian President Evo Morales, who is currently facing growing internal opposition to the constitutional reforms he is trying to implement in his impoverished Andean country.
On the economic front, the members signed a free-trade agreement with Israel, the first pact of its kind with a country outside of Latin America.
The deal followed two years of negotiations to bolster trade ties between South American countries and Israel.
Trade between Israel and Mercosur countries totaled $1.1 billion in 2006.
Yet other usually hot Mercosur topics -- such as complaints from the bloc's smaller members that the larger economies of Argentina and Brazil are too powerful -- were not discussed.
The leaders of Colombia and Peru -- the Mercour's other associate members -- did not attend the meet. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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