Brazil president: “We don’t want a Bolivarian America”
Today (Jan. 22), in the time dedicated to questions after the addresses at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said his efforts aim to promote “a great South America” and not a “Bolivarian America,” in an allusion to left-leaning governments in the continent, as that of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
The statement came in response to a question on integration between Brazil and the rest of Latin America. “Yes, we are concerned and intent on making a great South America, where obviously each country can preserve its local hegemony, we don’t want an Bolivarian America, as was the case recently in Brazil,” Bolsonaro said.
He reported he has talked to the presidents of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, Chile, Sebástican Piñera, and Paraguay, Maria Abdo Benítez.
In Bolsonaro’s view, the left has been losing space in Latin America, whereas center and center-right leaders make strides. “I believe this is an answer that shows that the left will not prevail in this region,” he remarked.
The Brazilian president also advocated mechanisms to enhance Mercosur, a regional bloc comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, with Venezuela having been temporarily suspended.
