MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

South American Community moves on.

The Brazilian sponsored creation of a South American Community of Nations advanced a step further this week during the presidential summit of the Rio Group which convened heads of state and representatives from 19 nations.

The main objectives of the community are to foster political, economic and infrastructure integration with the quiet obvious purpose of counter balancing United States supremacy in the region plus improving the Group's bargaining position in anticipation of coming trade negotiations.

The proposed community would have a population of 360 million, a gross domestic product of 800 billion US dollars and foreign trade above 188 billion US dollars.

"It will strengthen the region in its trade negotiations with developed countries", said Celso Amorim, Brazilian Foreign Affairs minister.

The announcement comes after Mercosur and the Andean Community signed a trade agreement last month.

While Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made a point of praising the good relations with Washington on congratulating President George Walker Bush for his re-election, Mr. Amorim mentioned that the region was hoping for more "respect and solidarity".

Regional integration expectations have been boosted with the spread of governments that reject or are not convinced with the orthodox open market policies sponsored by the United States such as Nestor Kirchner in Argentina, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Lula da Silva in Brazil, Lucio Gutierrez in Ecuador, Carlos Mesa in Bolivia and the latest to join elected president Tabare Vazquez from Uruguay who takes office next March 2005.

However the integration movement does not necessarily mean distancing from the United States. Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo insisted that a South American community does not rule out a stronger relation with United States and other regions of the world.

But in spite of all the optimism the dreams of unity that date back to one of the great heroes of South American independence Simon Bolivar in early XIXth century, still face abundant hurdles.

Many countries in the area are highly dependent on US trade and investment, several are negotiating bilateral trade agreements and even in Mercosur partners not always can agree. Trade, --and leadership--, disputes between Brazil and Argentina are reiterated and neutralizing for the group.

Besides in relations with multilateral organizations such as the IMF, Argentina has a confrontational attitude, while Brazil has become an example of orthodoxy and is frequently praised for its achievements by the IMF officials which Argentina blames for its miseries.

During the Rio Group meeting Argentine Foreign Affairs minister went even further and anticipated that Buenos Aires is working on "close cooperation, dialogue and convergence" links with Beijing.

"China is one of the world's main political and trade spaces to emerge in recent years" and a challenge for the Rio Group is to advance towards a close understanding with China, said Mr. Bielsa.

"We consider of special importance dialogue between nations and regions. That is why and regarding foreign relations of the Rio Group I want to share with you the interest of my country (Argentina) in continuing to strengthen links with all nations of the world", added Mr. Bielsa.

And Argentina is "particularly interested in searching for the necessary consensus to deepen cooperation, dialogue and convergence links with one or the main political and economic spaces to have emerged in the world, the Popular Republic of China".