The meeting promoted by the Brazilian government between presidents of South America in Brasília last Tuesday (30) was a milestone in the resumption of broad dialogue and in the attempt to find a new path for regional integration in the evaluation of specialists heard by Brasil de Fato.
For the analysts, an important diplomatic step was taken by bringing together the leaders of all the South American countries at the same conversation table, openly debating differences and trying to find a path of convergence that speaks louder than their ideological differences.
The summit meeting takes place at a time of strong regional instability, which affects virtually all countries. In this climate of generalized hostility in South America, governments, including the Brazilian one, are threatened and see integration as an element that can strengthen them.
“These presidents arrive in Brazil at a time when Lula is facing votes in Congress that could tie the government down”, evaluates Roberto Goulart Menezes, professor at the Institute of International Relations and creator of the Latin American Studies Nucleus at the University of Brasília (UnB). “It is a vote of confidence, of support for Lula too, who five months ago suffered an attempted coup d'état”.
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The professor says he heard a lot of people say that Lula arrived at the meeting empty-handed. "But I do not think so. He suggested several items. And the fact alone that all the presidents attended, except Peru (Dina Boluarte, who faces constitutional impediments, was represented by an assistant), is a great thing. Right now I am seeing a photo of Lacalle Pou next to Maduro, so this is relevant”, he said, referring to the physical proximity between the presidents of Uruguay and Venezuela, despite the criticism exchanged between them during the meeting.
“The conversation table and the possibility of coordination between the actors in South America are reopened”, evaluates Professor Dawisson Belém Lopes, from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). He believes the meeting was a “diplomatic victory for the entire region”.
“Ecuador”, recalls professor Menezes, “is practically in a state of siege. Peru is governed by a vice president who is questioned. Argentina with 100% inflation, money melting and the far-right leading the polls. Boric is facing problems with the Constitution. Each country has its own political crisis, so Lula is trying to pass the agenda to the region, seeking understanding that we need to be together to face these challenges”.
The Brasilia Consensus, the final declaration of the meeting, points to convergences such as the fight against the climate crisis and the defense of regional integration. In terms of integration, a recurrent theme in the representatives' speeches was the need for energy integration, to guarantee the countries' productive capacity at the best possible cost.
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Lula considers it important to support projects in neighboring countries, such as Argentina, which is facing a serious economic crisis. On his first visit to Buenos Aires after being elected, the Brazilian president said that the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) could finance the Vaca Muerta gas pipeline, a mega infrastructure project.
The UnB professor states that investing in infrastructure in South America is expensive, notably due to the operational difficulty in mountainous regions like the Andes, and therefore the union is necessary to make important projects viable. “There is no integration of any kind that is not based on economics and trade. No process sustains itself. That's why Brazil took a step forward and talked about infrastructure”.
Another recurring theme in the leaders' statements was the need to touch the integration process beyond ideological issues. Lopes even thinks that the meeting in Brasilia points to a more pragmatic project. “It seems to be the moment of synthesis”, says the professor.
Nicolás Maduro, in his speech, questioned the supposed leftist ideological tendency in the creation of Unasur. “I participated, as Chancellor of Commander [Hugo] Chávez, in the construction of the Unasur’s architecture. There was diversity. Alvaro Uribe [then President of Colombia] and Alan Garcia [then President of Peru] were present… There was a vision of the State, of statesmen, and the architecture was based on the most important themes for the moment. And it worked,” he said, referring to two right-wing presidents.
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“It is important to remember that the third country to ratify the treaty was Uribe's Colombia. There were already right-wing presidents at the time”, corroborates Professor Menezes. He considers that, despite the resistance of some countries, to the point that the final declaration of the event did not mention Unasur, the reconstruction of this integration forum is a possibility. “Now we need to see how it will be, which countries Lula will visit individually”.
The Brazilian president spoke of reactivating one of the bodies of Unasur, the South American Council for Infrastructure and Planning (Cosiplan). “I mean, he signaled with something concrete: energy, ports, roads… physical integration. There is no ideology there.” In his speech, Maduro listed all of Unasur’s councils and highlighted Cosiplan's relevance.
