Unasur controversy to be tackled by Evo Morales

The controversy surrounding the decision made by Brazil and five other countries to suspend their participation in the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) is set to make further waves. Bolivia, in the pro tempore chair of the organization, has taken the opposite stance. Former Unasur Secretary-General Ernesto Samper said he has no reason to worry, as the reins of Unasur are in the hands of Bolivian President Evo Morales, expected to speak on the matter soon.

“I’m here very much aware of what’s currently going on with Unasur, but also at ease, as I believe that, if there’s someone capable of finding solutions for the situation, that person is President Evo Morales, one of the founders of the union,” he said.

Samper spoke following the announcement that six of Unasur’s 12 members were not to attend bloc meetings or take part in any decision making before the appointment of the new secretary-general of the institution—formed by Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Letter

Last week, Brazil’s Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, as well as the chancellors of Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Chile, and Peru, sent a letter to Unasur’s pro tempore president reporting their decision to indefinitely suspend their participation in  meetings, motivated by the impasse with the Venezuelan government regarding the choice of the organization’s secretary-general.

In the letter, the chancellors claim that Unasur’s activities have been halted since January, 2017, because Venezuela, supported by Bolivia, Suriname, and Ecuador, vetoed Argentina’s candidate for the position of secretary-general.

Politics

The deadlock must be broken through negotiations, Samper argued. “As long as we’re capable of using this consensus to reach a formula that could form a qualified majority—or something of the sort—for the election of the secretary-general, I believe a quick solution to the issue can be found,” he pointed out.

According to the former Unasur secretary-general, the initiative of Brazil and the five other nations was politically motivated, hence the need to expand dialogue and seek consensus. “Unasur was born as a response to the inability of the inter-American system to deal with important issues, like issues related to defense,” he went on to note.

*Extra information from ABI, Bolivia’s public press agency