MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula da Silva not interested in Unasur secretary general post

Don’t count with me says the Brazilian president

Brazilian president Lula da Silva has no plans or intentions of becoming the next secretary general of Unasur, Union of South American Nations said his spokesperson Marcelo Baumbach who discarded all speculations related to the issue.

Baumbach added that Brazil has no candidate for the Unasur post left vacant following the death of former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner last October 27.

“As far as we know no other country has candidates” so it should not be expected that who ever is to occupy Mr. Kirchner’s post is to be named at the coming Unasur summit this week in Georgetown, Guyana.

Lula da Silva during a political rally in the state of Sao Paulo said that after he steps down next January first and hands the presidential sash to president-elect Dilma Rousseff, he’s only interested in “resting” and “travelling a lot” in Brazil.

“I don’t look like an ambassador. I don’t want to be an ambassador, I just want to be a simple Brazilian citizen, one more and travel a lot across Brazil”, said Lula da Silva who emphasized he “wants to disengage totally from the role of president, since there’s nothing worse than a former president playing as a president”.

Baumbach said that the next Unasur Secretary General must be a person capable of consolidating the legacy of Kirchner and have a “great regional political projection”, as well as “good access and dialogue with all heads of state”.

“Former president Kirchner gave the job of Unasur secretary general a great continental dimension”, he said.

Baumbach said that the profile of the person for the job “does not necessarily” have to be a former president or a former foreign affairs minister, but “must have an excellent relation with all presidents”.

The Brazilian president spokesperson anticipated that the coming summit could consider the inclusion of a “democratic clause” to the Unasur charter. “The initiative was born following the Ecuadorean crisis at the end of September when police forces mutinied and attacked President Rafael Correa”.

“There is a protocol proposal on the issue that is being negotiated and should be ready to be adopted at Georgetown”, said Baumbach. According to the clause any country that illegitimately alters constitutional rule will be automatically suspended from Unasur.

Other issues are the possible creation of Human Rights Council and measures to support and strengthen the institutional framework of the organization.

At the coming summit Ecuador will be handing Guyana the presidency of Unasur.