| ||||
|
|
South American leaders meet on economic bloc
CUZCO, Peru (AP)--Presidents and high-ranking officials from 12 South American countries are meeting in this ancient Inca capital high in the Andes to create a political and economic bloc to deal on a more equal footing with the U.S. and Europe.
The leaders will meet for a two-day summit starting Dec. 8 to sign an accord establishing the South American Community of Nations. It is the third meeting about the new group since 10 South American presidents first gathered in 2000 in Brazil to propose it.
But with three of the 12 countries' presidents--Eccuador's Lucio Gutierrez, Uruguay's Jorge Batlle and Argentina's Nestor Kirchner--remaining at home and sending representatives, some critics questioned how serious the commitment was to forming a powerful regional bloc.
Proponents of the new organization were still optimistic.
"In the last 30 years we have sought a Latin America with the capacity for effective international action and we have not achieved it because the countries of South America have been scattered, not unified," Peruvian Foreign Minister Manuel Rodriguez said. "With this new community, Latin America will be fortified."
He noted that the South American bloc will complement the Caribbean Community and the Central American Common Market.
The 12 nations include Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, along with Guyana and Suriname, two countries that are participating for the first time.
"We're talking about 17 million square kilometers, with 361 million inhabitants, with a GDP for the region of more than $973 billion, with exports above $180 billion," Rodriguez said.
He said South America's combined gross domestic product exceeds Canada's and "is much greater, by more than $200 billion, than that of the famous Asian tigers."
In a preliminary step in October, South America's two major trade blocs signed pacts to gradually create a free trade zone across the continent. Those agreements unite the Andean Community, made up of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, and Mercosur, composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, covering the eastern half of the continent.
Talks took place over months and there were reports of disputes, especially involving trade of agricultural products, getting in the way of agreements.
The Cuzco meeting won't establish a timeframe for achieving results.
"If things turn out reasonably well, in 15 years we will have a new map in the region," Allan Wagner, secretary general of the Andean Community, said during a meeting of the smaller trade group Dec. 7.
Critics of the new regional organization abound. They note that Latin America already has more than half a dozen political and economic blocs and argue they have little to show for their existence.
Critics say the Andean Community justifies skepticism about the success of the new group. In the 35 years since it was formed, the group has yet to agree on common tariffs for its members.
Blasco Penaherrera, a former vice president of Ecuador who later served as ambassador to the Organization of American States, is one of the sharpest critics of the proliferation of regional organizations in Latin America.
"The presidents live from summit to summit," he joked. "They're going to turn into mountain climbers, passing from summit to summit."
Joking aside, he noted that the presidential summits always deal with general themes like improving education and battling poverty and never bring concrete results.
Instead, he said, the summits produce "grandiose, repetitive declarations. If we compared the documents that come out of the summits, they are exactly the same, all rhetoric, all gassy, nothing concrete."
Penaherrera also is skeptical about South American nations creating a common market, noting that in many cases they export the same products.
"The trade situation among South American countries is tremendously negative," he said. "There is no real possibility of increasing sales because they compete with the same products."
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com
 
| |||||||||||||||||||
