MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Duhalde calls for an emancipated, united South America

Eduardo Duhalde president of the Mercosur Permanent Representatives Commission called on the South American block country members to keep advancing in the consolidation of common institutions, “the creation of new ones”, and invited to make effective the dream of “an emancipated South America”, growing in unity.

Mr. Duhalde speech in commemoration of Mercosur 14th anniversary last Monday evening was read during the official ceremony celebrated in Montevideo, Uruguay, the block' administrative capital, with the participation of representatives from the four full members plus associate members (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, plus Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela) and local national and city officials.

"We are celebrating the new hope for our peoples born 14 years ago and from which we promised to never again draw back", emphasized the former Argentine president.

"We must continue advancing on the agreements reached to ensure that all norms are invariably made effective; we must have even closer political and cooperation links. But basically we must accelerate the pace of certain aspects of the integration agenda which are vital for the harmonious growth of our republics with social justice for our peoples".

Further on Mr. Duhalde called on "to dream an emancipated South America", with growth founded on the search for a strong unity. "We have started an integration process which inexorably advances towards greater spaces"

Mr. Duhalde highlighted that fourteen years ago in Asunción, Paraguay, "our peoples started on a trail that fairly soon proved to be the most significant political decision of our history, since the independence wars at the beginning of XIX century".

"At that time, a brilliant generation of South American patriots dared to dream with an emancipated South America and had the necessary courage to launch the epopee. It was the first great thrust-idea which put an end to Spanish colonialism. If that first great thrust-idea was independence, the second thrust-idea is, undoubtedly Unity. Here resides the true historic importance of the creation of Mercosur".

However, after praising the expansion of intra-block trade and the end to old conflict hypotheses among country members, Mr. Duhalde questioned that these advances have not repeated themselves in social, cultural and communication relations, which was described as "one of the main problems" for Mercosur consolidation.

Finally the former Argentine president invited country members and associates to join efforts in consolidating energy, financial, physical, cultural and communicational integration, as well as drafting a common policy in the fields of agriculture, industry, research and scientific development and preservation of the environment.

But in spite of the celebration, the fourteenth anniversary coincides with yet another trade misunderstanding between Mercosur main partners, Brazil and Argentina.

The latest dispute is centred in trade safeguards imposed by Argentina on Brazilian industrial goods, particularly from Sao Paulo, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva political stronghold.

Buenos Aires has repeatedly demanded macroeconomic agreements in the framework of Mercosur, as established in the Asunción Treaty, that should help contain production and trade asymmetries among country members.