Miguel Angel Sandoval
Summoned by Lula, the presidents of South America, with the sole exception of the acting president of Peru, met in Brasilia, a few years after there was a presidential summit. The ambitious objective is to open a dialogue between presidents of different political positions, to start a new phase in relations between peers. This occurs when Lula is just beginning a mandate, which has in the international arena, a set of initiatives that make the isolationist attempts of his predecessor pale, but, above all, the predominant vision from the declining hegemony of the United States. .
And precisely this is part of the strategy that is being promoted from Brasilia. That development efforts and promotion of a series of policies have, at least, the consensus of the majority of countries that are today, summoned to an unprecedented summit in Brasilia. Thus, environmental issues cannot be promoted in isolation. This is the case of the great issue of the Amazon, which, as is well known, is shared by Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia; In addition, it is important to point out that the Amazon constitutes one of the planet’s lungs and, therefore, it could not be at the mercy of one or another multinational that seeks benefits for its few shareholders in the gigantic resources of these salvoes.
That is why at some point President Petro said of the urgency of addressing issues such as climate change jointly, and not just in isolation. That is one of the great themes of this summit. Of course, true to Lula’s style, the first thing is to bring the presidents together in the same room, without a prior agenda, so that they can speak, in confidence, in private, with no greater accompaniment than their foreign ministers and some adviser. Furthermore, without all the paraphernalia of official meetings loaded with protocol, previously prepared documents for symbolic signatures, and a long etcetera. In short, it is a new vision of diplomacy that is taken to its highest expressions.
It is obvious that the issue of Unasur will be on the table, that the burning issue of migrants will also occupy the attention of both. Likewise, the issue of drug trafficking will have a space in the deliberations that can be held openly. And it is not something minor. It is known that, for years, drug trafficking in its most complex expressions, planting, chemical processes, transportation, laundering, cooptation of authorities, is a topic in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, Venezuela , Guyana. There is not a single country that escapes the scourge of the 21st century. Perhaps not in all countries with the same intensity, but it is an undeniable fact that not much can be done in isolation.
Other big issues can occupy the discussion spaces of the presidents. Among them, the role of Brazil as a founding member of the BRICS, which during the Bolsonaro government had been relegated as part of the interests that led them to the US as the hegemonic factor in the region, with a vision of the last century. And of course the issue of the OAS can be addressed, as well as the visions that exist on democratic regimes in the region. Although there is no common agenda in this, nor does it seem that it could exist, at least for the moment. Well, although it is true, there is a vision loaded with ideology to focus on what is happening in Venezuela, it is no less true that the most marked absence, that of the Peruvian president Boluarte, is something that really makes everyone uncomfortable in different ways, it is true. , but who cannot spend the night on a summit of this nature. The coup/self-coup in Peru is too recent, as well as the multiple denunciations of human rights issues, as well as elections as soon as possible, which is an internal matter but which radiates to other countries, since in all of them there are forces that express their opinion and sometimes they act, in tune with issues that in other countries are part of an internal crisis. But such is politics and international relations.
In the same way, the solution to the Ecuadorian one, with an insoluble crisis of ungovernability, cannot be passively accepted by all the presidents, since this would be giving endorsement to a kind of modern coup d’état, where it is possible to govern making institutions something that can be left aside, when someone comes up with it and justifies it with some constitutional article. But that is anticipating vespers. At the time of writing this note, it is not clear what role the Central American and Caribbean region may play in the deliberations of summits like this one in the future. And this is part of the setbacks that are experienced in these regions, which with small exceptions have only democratic facade governments. There is a pending agenda here and it is not in those events where it can be resolved.
From here we cannot help feeling stinging when we see Lula da Silva’s ability to convene the presidents, without an agenda or better, with a free agenda, to exchange, open dialogues, think about shared actions in the future, with the idea that sovereignty serves to reaffirm the nature of all in relation to all. It is still early to predict what may result from this summit, but if one thing can be sure, it is that the region will not be the same, in political and diplomatic terms, after it concludes. And hopefully, with results and commitments to walk together without guardianships and without agendas other than their own.
