MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

South American Community promises integration and austerity

A dozen of South American countries constituted Wednesday in the Peruvian Andes the South American Community of Nations in the framework of the III regional presidential summit.

Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo who's hosting the summit said that South American leaders "are witnessing a historic event that is turning into flesh and bone the dream of Liberator Simon Bolivar from 180 years ago".

"We've come back with no hatred or retaliation as a great and modern continent with its arms open to the world to build from here the South American community of Nations", added President Toledo who anticipated the new block will have strong foundations for the development of the region, nourished on integration, targeting a fair distribution of wealth as well as greater social cohesion and inclusion. "We're united to leap forward and conquer markets in United States, Europe and Asia, and to give the benefits of globalization a human face".

The South American Community of Nations launched from the millennium old Inca temple of Korichancha in the Andes is forecasted to become the great Latinamerican block with 361 million people, 17 million square kilometres and a GDP equivalent to 973 billion US dollars.

This is the third regional group behind the Community of Caribbean countries and the Central American Common Market and should prove an effective tool for the economic, social and infrastructure integration process with a specific presence in world affairs and greater negotiating capacity in global rounds.

The "Declaration of Cuzco" also contemplates the signing of an agreement for a free trade area involving Mercosur, (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), the Andean Community (Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela) and three other countries of the region, Chile, Guyana and Surinam.

However four presidents were absent, Nestor Kirchner from Argentina, Jorge Batlle from Uruguay, Lucio Gutierrez from Ecuador and Nicanor Duarte from Paraguay.

Peruvian Foreign Affairs minister Manuel Rodríguez Cuadros was also particularly careful in pointing out that the new Community will not increase costs, or have its won budget or bureaucracy.

"Our objective is not the creation of another international organization with budget and secretariats, but rather a swift mechanism taking advantage of the current infrastructure", said Mr. Rodriguez Cuadros.

The founding document also establishes that the highest political structure of the SA Community of Nations will be the regional leaders' summits, the first of which is scheduled for 2005 in Brazil.

One of the first effective projects to be born from the foundation was the agreement between Peru and Brazil to build a road linking the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean.

The 1,200 kilometres long road and 700 million US dollars project will connect the port of Assis in southeast Brazil with Matarani, Ilo, Marcona and Pisco in the Peruvian Pacific.

On signing the agreement Brazilian president Lula da Silva said that "it's not a bilateral project; it's in the interest of all countries from the South American Community of Nations".

"Thank you very much my good friend Lula", said President Toledo, "the South American integration has began, together we'll be sailing from the Peruvian Pacific to conquer the world"