article from December 21, 2011
By Jamie Douglas
The Mercosur meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, showed promise
of having all the ingredients of the classical Latin American telenovela (a soap opera with high drama) even before the delegates
sat down. The high drama outpaced even the most lurid expectations. I am
stunned myself at how this event unfolded.
A little history lesson here for those who have not been
able to keep up with the fast-paced developments in the region:
Mercosur, short for Mercado
del Sur, or Market of the South, was formed in 1991 by the Treaty of
Asunción to promote the free trade and the movement of goods, people and
currency. Its member nations are (in order of economic power) Brazil,
Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. There are five nations with associate member
status: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, while the Bolivarian
dictatorship of Hugo Chávez signed a membership agreement in 2006. It was to
become a South American version of the European Union with a common currency,
the fictitious gaucho.
Now, more than 20 years later, the merry-go-round keeps
going around. The most recent Mercosur Summit took place in the Uruguayan
capital of Montevideo, where the host, President José Mujica, who is Presidenta
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s new lapdog, has been pushing for the
incorporation of Venezuela as a new member state, in spite of the legislature
of Paraguay’s refusal to ratify its entry. Paraguay’s president, the virile
Priest Father (really – three illegitimate kids) Fernando Lugo, was trying to
strike a side deal with Argentina’s Kirchner, Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff and
Uruguay’s Mujica, which would have bypassed the unanimous requirement from the
agreement.
Hugo Chávez already announced the he will (and did) travel
to Montevideo to announce Venezuela’s full membership, but something did not go
according to plan. The president of Paraguay’s Congress, Senator Jorge Oviedo
Matto, made three points very clear:
1. The Paraguayan constitution requires the approval of
every international agreement and must be voted on and approved by Congress
before becoming law.
2. If the membership of Venezuela will be approved against
the objection of the opposition congress, President Lugo will be impeached.
3. The Paraguayan position is not against the nation of
Venezuela, but against its dictatorial despot, Hugo Chávez, under whose
leadership the Venezuelan government has ceased to respect the freedom of the
press or the political freedom of opponents.
In Montevideo, meanwhile, Uruguay’s foreign minister
announced that there is a formula on the table, the objective of which is to
find a mechanism to assure a prompt entry for Venezuela into the crumbling
union, while at the same time Paraguay’s threat to leave the Mercosur was
described by Senator Oviedo Matto as being an event by which his country will
not be losing much, “…and what have the advantages been so far? There will be
no parting tears!”
Chávez’s arrival in Montevideo to announce his country’s
entry has been toned down a little bit by his public admission that Venezuela’s
incorporation doesn’t have to be decided today (Tuesday, Dec 20).
To add to the high drama, it was revealed during lunch that
one high-ranking member of the Argentine delegation, an ultra-Kirchnerite wunderkind,
was found hanging from his shower in his luxury hotel suite at the Radisson
Hotel. Iván Heyn, Argentina’s under-secretary of commerce, was one of the most
promising Young Turks, best friends with former minister of the economy and
current Vice President of Argentina Amado Boudou. He was one of the most
prominent leaders of the young Kirchnerist organization La Campora, and his future as a political and economic leader was
as assured as you can get in Argentina.
His death brought shock and disbelief to the summit, which
was temporarily suspended. The headline of the Mercosur press release reads, “On
hearing the news, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez suffered a
decompensation and had to be taken for medical attention.”
This, of course, will open his tragic death to all kinds of
conspiracy theories; but regardless of the circumstances, the loss of such a
promising young man is a tragedy.
By 23:30 on Tuesday night, the delegates announced the
formation of a working group to help smooth the entry of Venezuela and Ecuador
into Mercosur. The member nations also signed a free trade agreement with Palestine
and expressed their solidarity with Argentina’s effort to gain control over the
disputed (by Argentina) Falkland Islands, referred to around here as las Islas Malvinas.
US Hopes for a
regional free-trade agreement
Now that the US finds itself playing second fiddle to China
in Latin America, the Obama administration just suddenly rediscovered its old
and exploited southern neighbors, with US Trade Representative Ron Kirk wanting
to kick-start a trade agreement with South America and calling for a greater
opening of the Brazilian economy to the United States. Since 2009, Brazil’s
largest trading partner has been China, whose influence is spreading rapidly
across the entire Southern Hemisphere.
The Clown Prince of Venezuela, of course, could not resists
the opportunity to go on state TV in Caracas on Monday, Dec 19, telling Obama
to “leave us alone” and calling him a clown and an embarrassment as well as
suggesting that he should focus on governing the US, which, says Chávez, he turned into a disaster.
Very interesting he should say that. He must have been
practicing his speech in front of a mirror.
Jamie Douglas
San Rafael, Mendoza
I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with
any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any
travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free
of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial
counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated and do not appear immediately after posting. Thank you very much for your thoughts and input.