Along with Lula and Maduro, Alberto Fernández defended the relaunch of UNASUR: “Brothers be united”

At this summit of South American presidents, in Brasilia, the press experienced difficulties in accessing the speeches of the heads of state in due time and form. The only pronouncement that will be heard, live, was that of the Brazilian Lula da Silva. In the other cases the images appear, but without sound. It was the case of the allegation of Alberto Fernández, who attended this regional leadership with his chancellor Santiago Cafiero.

The head of La Rosada agreed with the diagnosis made, moments before, by the Brazilian leader: “We come from a process of disarticulation of Latin America. And I cannot fail to mention the influence of Donald Trump’s years as president of the United States; nor can I help thinking that the Lima Group was created at that time with the sole purpose of allowing military intervention in a South American country; or that Unasur was diluted to create Pro-Sur in its place, because that was the logic that Washington proposed”.

Alberto philosophized about the crossroads facing the world. “We are in a moment of change, where globalization is not what we know. What used to be a process of relocation of industries is now relocation. Companies return to their countries of origin. It is an objective fact that today globalization is being reviewed”. According to the Argentine ruler, this new context appears “when democratic institutions show their weakness in the region. And he worries us, because the construction of democracy and human rights is something that cost the lives of many people in South America and we cannot lose it ”.

In his vision, the review of globalizing processes can result in a strengthening of the regions. “We thought that Europe was in a huge crisis when Brexit happened. And yet, Europe is absolutely strengthened, fighting back and facing challenges that it is subjected to by the dispute between China and the United States.

“What does the world need?” she wondered. To later say that Latin America has everything: “We have energy. Green hydrogen, gas as transition energy and food. But we have to stop sending grains or seeds and start providing industrialized food. In addition, with Chile and Bolivia we have 66% of the lithium in the world, which represents a formidable opportunity”.

In line with the predominant discourse at the summit, Fernández maintained that “they wanted us to believe that Unasur was an ideological space. I saw a Unasur in which former President Álvaro Uribe lived with President Hugo Chávez; And they don’t think the same. It is that Unasur is a space of common interests, which we must deepen and develop”.

The truth is that the great convergences failed at this summit. Among those who diverged were the Chilean Gabriel Borich and the Uruguayan Luis Lacalle Pou. Both are among the youngest rulers. The dissidences originated around the presence of Nicolás Maduro and the most rude was Lacalle. In an Instagram live, he said that a declaration on human rights and democracy would come out of this appointment, which everyone intended to subscribe to. And he questioned the validity of both principles in Caracas. The Chilean was more delicate: “We are happy that Venezuela is returning to multilateral instances because we believe that problems are resolved in these spaces and not with statements where we only attack each other. However, this cannot mean sweeping the problems under the rug, or turning a blind eye to issues that are important to us in principle.”