El Salvador: Sao Paulo Enters New Stage

[Joanne98]

Sao Paulo Enters New Stage

San Salvador, Jan 13 (Prensa Latina) Latin American progressives meeting in El Salvador during four days are celebrating on Saturday the progress by the leftwing and the integration alternatives for development and social welfare.

More than 500 representatives of parties, entities, and social movements from 30 countries that are attending the 13th Sao Paulo Forum, considered positive the results of tens of electoral processes in 2006.

Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN) General Coordinator Medardo Gonzalez said Latin America has already gone from the talking stage to that of defeating neoliberalism.

Gonzalez said the text, which is called The new Latin American and Caribbean integration stage, says clearly "we are ready to defeat neoliberalism and build a new alternative model."

The need to work for a true democracy, extension of public social policies, essential structural reforms, and creation of an alternative economic model are among the main issues included in the document.


http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={23C5C2D1-5464-4A54-AB8F-643B422E06B5}&language=EN

[EFerrari]

1. I can't believe this meeting took place in San Salvador.

:wow:

Adelante! Forward!

[Joanne98]

2. There seems to be resistance everywhere these days....

:)

[EFerrari]

3. Latin America is waking up and kicking @ss.

I'm so glad. :)

[RethugAssKicker]

4. A major thanks to Chavez

[Vidar]

5. Latin America gives me hope.

[EFerrari]

6. Me, too. A precious commodity lately.

:)

[Peace Patriot]

7. Mercosur meeting coming up in Uruguay--Mercosur will be the vehicle for

creating a Latin American "Common Market" and possibly a common currency--it appears to me.

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"Uruguay Preps for MERCOSUR Summit

"Montevideo, Jan 13 (Prensa Latina) Uruguay is defining the position it will defend in the next Common Market of the South Summit (MERCOSUR) scheduled for the 18th in Brazil.

"Brazil had announced its intention of including debates on differences on common borders to which Montevideo answered that they must back with facts.

"The secretary of International Economic Affairs of Integration and MERCOSUR, Carlos Amorin said they must deal with practical problems such as the application of tariffs that hinder trade.

"He said they must also consider institutional funds that define a common development strategy but that are also marked by the individual progress of each nation.

"To help exchange and eliminate asymmetries are two of the factors that concern Uruguay, to which are added internal differences regarding production and exports.

"According to the Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim, the position presented by Uruguay at the end of last year arises from the 'notorious difficulties' confronting MERCOSUR, and he called for a revision that 'should be centered on adapting the objectives.'"

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={9B83E8BC-9057-476D-A3E4-0B84340954F3})&language=EN

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I don't know enough about South American geography and history to know what "differences on common borders" might mean. I know that Bolivia and Chile have a dispute over Bolivia's access to the sea (--they once had a war about it). Don't know what other border controversies Brazil might be talking about. Also, South American diplomats sometimes speak in a roundabout way that doesn't translate very well. (--or maybe it's just diplomat-speak, a worldwide problem). The bits about "institutional funds" and "eliminating asymmetries" are interesting, but I'm not sure what they mean--I presume he means funds for development and inequities in SA trade (possibly poor vs rich? well-funded countries vs poorly funded countries?. And I'm lost in the part about "adapting the objectives." Don't know enough about Mercosur, either.

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The following really needs to be given its own OP, but I'll preview it here...

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"Nicaragua Joins Venezuela in Regional Association and Cooperation Agreements

"Friday, Jan 12, 2007 - By: Gregory Wilpert – Venezuelanalysis.com


"President Ortega of Nicaragua, President Chavez of Venezuela, Presidnet Morales of Bolivia, and Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, one of the Cuban revolution's oldest surviving leaders.
Credit: Prensa Presidencial

"Caracas, January 12, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)— Nicaragua’s newly elected President Daniel Ortega signed 15 cooperation agreements with Venezuela and agreed to have his country join Venezuela’s “Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas.” Venezuela also forgave Nicaragua’s debt to Venezuela.

"Following his inauguration as President on Wednesday, Venezuela’s President Chavez traveled to Nicaragua, where he attended Daniel Ortega’s inauguration which took place on the same day as his own inauguration. Ortega received Chavez as a guest of honor, together with President Evo Morales of Bolivia.

"In his first official act upon assuming the presidency, Ortega signed an agreement for Nicaragua to join the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) yesterday, to which Venezuela, Cuba, and Bolivia already belong. The grouping was conceived by Venezuela as an alternative to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and is supposed to base relations between countries on solidarity instead of free trade.

"According to Ortega, ALBA is 'based in solidarity, cooperation, complementarity, and mutual aid,' and aims to rescue 'our identity, participatory democracy, and economic development with equity.'

"Morales, stated that 'ALBA has defeated ALCA .' Originally the Bush administration had hoped to have the FTAA in place throughout Latin America by 2005, but most countries refused to sign it and the U.S. abandoned it, signing instead bilateral free trade agreements with various countries, such as Colombia and Peru.

(snip) (Note: the great part!! practical mutual aid!)

"As one of the first agreements between Venezuela and Nicaragua, Chavez announced that Venezuela would forgive 'without conditions' Nicaragua’s debt to Venezuela of about $31.3 million.

"Another agreement includes a feasibility study of having Venezuela construct a refinery in Nicaragua, whose income would allow the Nicaraguan people 'to liberate yourselves from the International Monetary Fund,' said Chavez. The refinery would have a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day.

"Other bilateral agreements between Venezuela and Nicaragua include the supply of 10 million barrels of discounted oil per day and the donation of $10 million for social programs. The leaders also signed a letter of intent to study the construction of an aluminum factory, the creation of a food distribution network, and a contract for the purchase of Nicaraguan beans.

"Venezuela is already sending 32 electricity generators to Nicaragua, to help the country overcome its chronic blackouts. The first of these generators was to arrive on the day of Ortega’s inauguration. (MORE)

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=2190

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This is what Chavez is doing that has the monkey suits in the multinational corporate board rooms and their lapdogs in Washington DC so bent out of shape--helping Latin countries out of World Bank debt and out of the clutches of the IMF. The Nicaraguans can now give the finger to Paul Wolfowitz and that crowd of carnivorous animals. The Chavez government also helped bail Argentina out of the same World Bank/IMF-caused disaster. It is so WONDERFUL to see this kind of cooperation! This is what's so badly needed--for Latin Americans to pull together. They have allowed us to "divide and conquer" them for so long. (--some serious "divide and conquer" crap is going on in Bolivia right now--I hope the Morales government and the people hold firm to national unity and national control of resources!)