Five important touchpoints at the UNASUR meeting...

--unanimous condemnation of Arizona's anti-immigrant law; praise of Obama for also condemning it
--unanimous election of Nestor Kirchner as the Sec General of UNASUR (a most interesting choice)
--attendance by the many leftist presidents; avoidance by the rightists (Colombia, Peru)
--"dialogue" with the U.S. about the U.S. military bases in Colombia
--Correa's remarks about the fraudulent junta election in Honduras


------------------

UNASUR Condemns Arizona Immigration Law, Elects General Secretary

By KIRAZ JANICKE – VENEZUELANALYSIS.COM


Latin American Integration
UNASUR

Caracas, May 5 2010 (venezuelanalysi.com) – The final declaration of the summit of presidents of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), held in Argentina yesterday, condemned the recent immigration law SB1070 passed by the U.S. state of Arizona on the grounds that it criminalises people on the basis of race.

The South American presidents “reject the criminalisation of migrants” contained in the law adopted on 23 April, which allows for the “detention of persons on a discretionary basis by racial, ethnic, phenotype, language and immigration status considerations, through the questionable concept of reasonable doubt,” the statement adopted by the summit said.

The statement determined that the law could lead to “the legitimisation of racist attitudes in the host society and the latent risk of regrettable incidents of violence due to racial hatred, of which many South American citizens have already been victims.”

In this regard the statement recognised, “the importance of the expressions of rejection expressed by the president of the United States, Barack Obama, other countries, as well as the Secretary of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza.”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez described Arizona’s new law, which has sparked protests across the U.S. as “inhumane.”

In addition to Chavez, the summit was attended by the presidents of Brazil; Luiz Inacio “Lula” Da Silva, Uruguay; José Mujica, Ecuador; Rafael Correa, Paraguay; Fernando Lugo, Chile; Sebastián Piñera, Bolivia; Evo Morales, and Argentina; Cristina Fernandez.

The other member nations of the regional bloc were represented by their foreign ministers, Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde from Peru, Jaime Bermúdez; Colombia, Lygia Kraag-Keteldijk; Suriname and Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett from Guyana.

The summit took steps towards the further consolidation and institutionalisation of the emerging regional bloc with the unanimous election of former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner as the first general secretary of UNASUR.

Chavez expressed Venezuela’s support for the move saying “I’m very happy with the decision we took by consensus.”

“I think it would be difficult, in this moment, in this juncture, to find someone with more experience, qualities and characteristics of a statesman, and with such a passion for the South,” he stressed.

Similarly, Lula said the designation of Kirchner represented a stage of consolidation and strengthening of the regional bloc.

The pro tempore president of UNASUR and of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, argued that the appointment of Kirchner would help to push forward the process of integration.

The summit also made a range of other accords including an agreement to develop an energy strategy for the continent through the formation of the South American Energy Council of UNASUR, to increase cooperation to combat drug trafficking, development of social programs as well as assistance and cooperation with Haiti and Chile in earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicholas Maduro said another item under ongoing discussion is, “an agenda that allows dialogue on equal terms, in respectful terms (with the U.S.), to achieve a future that overcomes, what in the last hundred years has been imposed on our continent by the imperial elites who have governed the United States and treated all of Latin America as their backyard. That time is over and it is felt very strongly at the meetings we have held in UNASUR.”

Maduro explained that the proposal for dialogue with the United States arises out of the decision last year by the Colombian government to allow the installation of seven U.S. military bases on its territory.

Speaking on behalf of the regional bloc, Correa said the UNASUR countries are also opposed to the invitation to Honduras to participate in the upcoming Latin American- European Union Summit in Madrid over May 17-18, due to the military coup against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya in June last year, and the U.S. backed fraudulent elections carried out by the coup regime in November.

He was emphatic in stating that, “You can not legitimise elections under the aegis of a dictatorship and you can not set a precedent of this nature, that any group of adventurers can carry out a coup with bayonets, and in three or four months call for elections and absolutely nothing happens.”

http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/5332

---------------------------------------------

I get the feeling that the presidents in attendance at the UNASUR meeting may know something we don't know about Obama and the U.S./Colombia military agreement, namely that he may not like it--and they are perhaps trying to bolster his position by talking of "respectful" dialogue with the U.S. about it. Venezuela is the most threatened by it, and Chavez said, at one point, with regard to it, that Obama is "the prisoner of the Pentagon." So that MAY be the situation they are dealing with--Obama not having much power visa vis our war profiteers--and they are trying to bolster the "doves" against the "hawks."

When the Bushwhacks sent down their dictate to South American leaders that they must "isolate Chavez" (circa 2006), Nestor Kirchner replied, "But he's my brother!" Kirchner and Chavez have had a long and close friendship and alliance. So the choice of Kirchner as Sec General of an organization that our corpo-fascist rulers would dearly love to smash to pieces was not exactly mollifying to the U.S. Nor would the choice of Lula da Silva have been--one of the other main possibilities. Lulu has not been "playing the game"--he strongly and actively tried to counter Jim DeMint's and John Negroponte's and John McCain's and the Pentagon's, and sad to say (but not all that surprising), Hillary Clinton's, rightwing coup in Honduras. He ALSO pointedly invited Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Brazil, just when they were trying to demonize Chavez for having welcomed him to Venezuela. Both Lulu and Kirchner often have Chavez's back, in that way, countering U.S. propaganda.

Kirchner is more vocally anti-U.S. "free trade for the rich" than Lulu is. But Lulu imposed Chavez-like restrictions on development of Brazil's new oil find, and he also, back in 2006, said that the U.S. 4th Fleet in the Caribbean was "a threat to Brazil's oil" (not just Venezuela's). It was Lulu who proposed creation of a common defense in the context of UNASUR (of which the U.S. is not a member). I don't think either leader--Kirchner or Lulu--would please the corporatists and war planners in Washington. The fascist leaders are outnumbered and had no chance to be chosen. And Morales (Bolivia) and Correa (Ecuador)--whom I think was only an acting Sec General (??--don't know for sure)--are both major targets of our corporate rulers like Chavez, so either of them (or Chavez) would have been to aggressively throw down the gauntlet. And none of them--nor Lulu--is out of work. (Lulu has two more years as prez of Brazil, I believe.)

Kirchner is an ex-president, but apparently he can run again in Argentina and intends to. Part of the motivation in choosing him might have been to give him a platform for his next election campaign. His wife, Cristina Fernandez, current president of Argentina, has been struggling with poor poll numbers and vicious assaults by the corpo-fascist press. Nestor was VERY popular as president (with Chavez's help, pulled Argentina out of complete World Bank/IMF-induced meltdown). I would say he's "harder" to the left on economic matters (more anti-corporate, anti-"free trade for the rich")--than Lulu. So that may have been involved in the decision. He is a diplomat--soft-spoken, heartfelt--and was available. I really don't know much about their selection process, or other candidates. Chavez's remark about Kirchner's "passionate commitment to the South" gives us a clue as to the foreground and background discussions and politicking. I think this means two things: the sovereignty of Latin American countries especially vs. the U.S.--a BIG issue in Latin America--and creation of South America along the lines of Simon Bolivar's dream of a "United States of South America"--an EU-like economic/political block to counter the untoward and dangerous power of the U.S.

I was glad to read of Rafael Correa's strong remarks on Honduras. He nails it. "You can not legitimise elections under the aegis of a dictatorship and you can not set a precedent of this nature, that any group of adventurers can carry out a coup with bayonets, and in three or four months call for elections and absolutely nothing happens." But he lays off the U.S. (as far as I know), and that is interesting. I think they may have concluded that they need to deny the U.S. rulers "divide and conquer" issues? That's the feeling I was getting about their view of Obama or about somebody they are working with, within the Obama administration (or at least someone influential) who is trying temper U.S. policy toward Latin America, which right now looks basically like a war plan to me, mainly for grabbing control of Venezuela's oil and also for stemming the leftist tide.

He would be superb at this position. Perfect.

This was an excellent report, and your comments are deeply appreciated. Thank you.

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

Kirchner is being investigated for corruption along several fronts. Some of this corruption involves tolling of transactions by a suspected Kirchner-Chavez corruption mafia located in Miami, Caracas and Panama. Argentinian judges just requested information on the financial arrangements for this company from the Venezuelan, US, and Panama governments. As the investigation proceeds, it looks like Kirchner will have to either flee Argentina or be arrested for massive fraud. The fraud is also likely to ripple and involve PDVSA officials as high as Rafael Ramirez.

Where does this leave Unasur? Like Alba, another baloney organization set up by Caracas, a do-nothing talking fest bulldinky session forum everybody laughs at.

Meanwhile, as they have pointed in other posts, the Bolifar "fuerte" keeps dropping in value, the government is about to impose a corralito, and there's no meat in the stores.

to infest it.

Surely you have more wortwhile things to do than linger over postings made by your political enemies.

I said Unasur is dead, it's a worthless forum. Please refrain from insulting me, you know it doesn't work. And I must add, I really like you. I know you are a little too intense, but I like intelligent opponents :-)

I certainly didn't see this sentiment in his post. Why do you have to be automatic enemies if you merely disagree on certain issues?

I don't think she liked it because I said Unasur was garbage with Kirchner in charge. I mean, who would have thought they could put in charge a guy who is being chased by judges for corruption, and is known to be a huge crook by his own people? It shows they think Unasur is for the birdies.