Brasilia (EFE).- Brazil officially announced its return, after four years, to the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), a bloc that was born in 2008 promoted by the South American giant, according to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.
“At a time when its main international alliances are resumed, Brazil will once again form part of Unasur,” through a decree signed Thursday night by the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
The decree that promulgates the Consultative Treaty of Unasur, which places the country “back to the group created in the second term of President Lula”, will come into effect on May 6, the statement said.
“Just like Brazil, Argentina also announced that it will return to the bloc”, which after having all twelve South American nations in 2010, currently only has Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela, in addition to Peru, which is suspended, recalled the Foreign Ministry. .
The objective of Unasur, cited Brazil, “is to promote the integration of countries in a model to integrate the two existing customs unions: Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and CAN (Andean Community of Nations)” .
But this integration, “in addition to the economic sphere,” must occur “to reach other areas of interest, such as social, cultural, scientific-technological, and political,” the statement added.
On March 23, in Santo Domingo, the Brazilian Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira, had affirmed that his country wanted to “relaunch Unasur with new bases”, an organization abandoned in the last five years by the majority of countries that accused it of being ideologized. .
“Unasur played an important role and its relaunching with new bases is worth the effort. And these bases include the result of the dialogue with the member countries, so that all consider the appropriate format. We are going to work in that direction,” Vieira said in a telephone interview with EFE.
The bloc was born in 2008 promoted by the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and Lula.
In 2017 it entered into a crisis, when the twelve member countries could not agree on a new Secretary General, a situation that was aggravated by the conflicting positions on the Venezuelan crisis.
The situation became more critical when, in 2018, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru, with center-right governments, led by the then Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, suspended their participation and financing.