Chávez insists on integration mechanisms for Unasur

[Judi Lynn]

Source: El Universal, Venezuelan opposition newspaper

CARACAS, Tuesday December 16, 2008
Chávez insists on integration mechanisms for Unasur
Presidents and representatives of 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries until Wednesday are holding a summit focused on hemispheric integration

Latin America
"The United States is not the boss here anymore," boasted Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez on Tuesday on arriving in Brazil and hailed the rendezvous of the Latin American summit without "the aegis" or the look of the United States and with Cuba's appearance.

"The important thing for independence in this hemisphere is for us to meet without the Empire (…) A new history, a new stage, is beginning," said the head of state on arriving in Costa do Sauipe, northeastern Brazil.

"We are taking a way that was missed long time ago, the time of (Simón) Bolívar, of (José) Martí, of our founding fathers. Here we are, talking, from the South," he added.

Presidents and representatives of 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries would meet until Wednesday in this Brazilian heavenly spa located in Bahía state, for a summit focused on hemispheric integration.


Read more: http://english.eluniversal.com/2008/12/16/en_int_esp_ch...

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[Peace Patriot]

1. A number of very important things happened at this Summit....

Top of the list would be UNASUR's unanimous approval of a South American-only Defense Council (sans the U.S.):
http://english.eluniversal.com/2008/12/16/en_int_esp_un...
I'm pretty sure it was unanimous. Can't find out for sure. In any case, 'they said it couldn't be done'--South Americans agreeing on this. But they just did it.

South American leaders holding a very important meeting without the U.S., and inviting Cuba, is certainly news:
"Latin America summit excludes U.S. and welcomes Cuba"
http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnTRE4BF76F.html

Here is a list of current news articles on this meeting and related events:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&q=UNASUR&btnG=Se...

Thirdly, a dispute between Argentina and Uruguay (over Uruguay placing pulp mills on the border with Argentina) is holding up the choice of Nester Kirchner (former president of Argentina and husband of the current president) as the first Secretary General of UNASUR. A writer at Scoop.com is quite exercised about it, and blames Tabare Vasquez of Uruguay. The writer says it bodes ill for South American unity. I'm not sure it's anything more than political maneuvering, expectable in the first election of a Secretary General of UNASUR (or anything that big).
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0812/S00401.htm

Some BBC hits on UNASUR's first crisis--the U.S./Bushwhack instigated white separatist riots in Bolivia. UNASUR aquitted itself very well during this crisis, as did Bolivia's president Evo Morales (who threw the U.S. ambassador and the DEA out of Bolivia for their collusion for their collusion with these fascists).
http://search.bbc.co.uk/search?go=toolbar&uri=%2F2%2Fhi...