The presidents of Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador communicated by videoconference.
The presidents of several countries in South America communicated this week by videoconference, with the aim of coordinating joint measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the region.
On Monday, without the presence of the Brazilian Head of State, Jair Bolsonaro —he was replaced by Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo—, and with the exclusion of Venezuela, the leaders of Chile, Sebastián Piñera; Argentina, Alberto Fernández; Paraguay, Mario Ando Benítez; Ecuador, Lenin Moreno; Colombia, Iván Duque; Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou; Peru, Martín Vizcarra; and the de facto president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, held a virtual meeting in the framework of the covid-19 outbreak on the continent.
As reported by the newspaper Tiempo Argentino, Fernández had complained about the presence of a representative from Caracas at the videoconference through a letter sent to Piñera, who proposed that the talk be held.
At the end of the summit, the leaders issued a joint statement on the actions to be carried out. One of them has to do with the need to make “shared purchases” of hospital supplies within the framework of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), as well as freeing the border transport of goods essential to combat the pandemic.
On the other hand, the government representatives stated that it will be essential to carry out a strict control of the borders to avoid the possible entry of infected people into the region, according to the Paraguayan newspaper La Nación.
It should be noted that all the governments of the aforementioned countries have decided to block their border crossings except for Brazil, which did so partially, and only with Venezuela.
They also discussed coordinating joint economic measures to reduce the impact of the disease on productivity, as well as arranging loans with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).
Undoubtedly, the proliferation of coronavirus cases in Latin America tests the coordination capacity, in matters of health policy, of the entire region.
With a weakened Mercosur and the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) in a clear process of disarmament – the new right-wing Government of Uruguay abandoned it last week – the new Forum for the Progress of South America (Prosur) took center stage, created by Chile’s initiative in 2019 given Piñera’s refusal to share a continental body with Venezuela.
Thus, in the face of a moment of health emergency, the lack of total integration of the South American countries has been exposed, which has been affected by ideological differences.
After the teleconference of South American leaders, the former President of Colombia and former Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), Ernesto Samper, called Venezuela’s exclusion from the virtual summit “unforgivable.”
Samper questioned the attitude of some countries, including his own, to “try to isolate” the neighboring nation on “ideological issues.”
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