Chilean Senate approves Unasur charter with two caveats

The initiative was originally presented in September 2008 by then President Michelle Bachelet, and approved by the Lower House in January 2009. But since then the bill was stalled in the Senate because of certain apprehensions from conservatives. Basically they are mistrustful of Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez.

However to overcome mistrust, the Chilean Senate managed to incorporate an agreement for the government to include two additional protocols: one referred to the democratic clause (as with Mercosur) and a second which demands full commitment with human rights from member states.

The final vote was 25 ayes and one abstention.

Hernán Larrain president of the Senate Foreign Affairs committee said that the vote for the incorporation to Unasur of Chile confirms the “integration spirit that we Chileans as a country have and the need to act as a region in the world economic scenario”.

“The community of South American nations will boost development in Chile and we must also cooperate with the development of the remaining countries in the region”, added Larraín. “There are benefits in time, and they will be very significant since progress in Chile is not dissociated from what happens in the rest of Latin America”.

Unasur was born with the Declaration of Cuzco (Peru) in 2004 and currently has twelve member countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Paraguay, Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The Unasur creation charter has been ratified so far by the parliaments of Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela. For it to become effective a minimum of nine ratifications out of 12, are needed.