South America Grapples with Obstacles to Integration

   
Increased integration and political cooperation are among the themes expected to be discussed at the Summit of South American Presidents, to be held on August 31 in Brasília. This summit is expected to be more successful than previous meetings at improving relations among the South American countries.

Difficult domestic situations in some countries, coupled with a lack of real commitment to regional initiatives, have complicated the implementation of plans for South American integration. The democratic and security crises in the Andean region are among the obstacles to this process.

And yet, these are precisely the kind of problems that should be broached at a regional forum and addressed by a cooperative effort among all countries. According to political scientist Fernando Cepeda U., the South American Summit represents an excellent opportunity for the Andean countries to strengthen their democratic processes. The summit agenda "includes such topics as adopting a democracy clause, a tool that has been very effective in other contexts to preserve and deepen democracy," he noted.

Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has described the summit as an opportunity to "examine the idea of creating a 'South American space.'" Critics call this a dangerous attempt to set a trade agenda independent from the rest of the hemisphere. Miami Herald columnist Andrés Oppenheimer asks, if the Americas are divided into two clearly defined economic and political blocs, will it be too long before Brazil holds the first Summit of South America, competing with the Summit of the Americas process?

This does not seem to be the intention of the summit. Instead, its goal appears to be to develop avenues for cooperation in areas suggested by Cardoso, including trade, infrastructure, drugs and crime. Emphasis is also likely to be placed on ways to consolidate the region's negotiating capacity to attract a greater share of foreign investment. This effort acknowledges the fact that as prospects for integration become more realistic, the credibility of individual South American countries stands to benefit.

Cardoso himself has called for the need to develop gradual mechanisms for integration with all the countries of Latin America, including Mexico and Central America, "in preparation for the greater hemispheric market." He has stipulated that "hemispheric integration should ensure benefits for all countries."

His views are echoed by Vicente Guillermo Arnaud, a columnist for the Argentine newspaper La Nación, who has argued that "a free trade area is not an end in itself, but rather a means for development and the well-being of populations." He describes the South American Summit as "an opportunity for the countries of this bloc to further the process of South American-and eventually, Latin American-integration, pursue the development of their countries and the well-being of their peoples, participate as a unified front in international negotiations, and insert themselves into the globalized world."

It remains to be seen whether this summit will produce more than just another series of proposals. Perhaps the crisis in the Andean countries will motivate the development of an integration process that provides solutions to problems of democracy and forges common and complementary policies. As President Cardoso has said, "bringing the countries of the region closer together is a natural and necessary goal."