Posted on 05/28/2008 9:54:14 PM PDT by B-Chan
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday that South American nations will seek a common currency as part of the region's integration efforts following the creation of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) last week.
"We are proceeding so as, in the future, we have a common central bank and a common currency," said Lula in his weekly radio program, noting that this process will "not be fast."
The president highlighted the importance of helping the group's more "economically fragile" members, such as Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.
"We have to help them because the stronger the countries in South America economically are, the more tranquility, peace, democracy, trade, companies, jobs, incomes and development," he said.
The Brazilian leader said the creation of Unasur will allow cross-nation construction of railroads, highways, bridges and transmission lines connecting the region, while the alliance will make negotiations with other blocs easier.
The president said changes will be made on the proposal to create a regional defense council, which the South American leaders failed to agree during a summit in Brasilia on Friday.
A working group is expected to analyze the revised proposal in August, he said.
Lula plans to visit Colombia in July and meet Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Colombia was the only member that opposed the plan to build the regional defense council designed to resolve regional conflicts, promote military cooperation and possibly coordinate joint weapons production in the region.
Uribe has said Colombia is experiencing a difficult time in its fight against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the largest rebel group in the country, and such a regional defense body would not offer solutions to Colombia's problem.
The heads of state of 12 South American countries -- Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela -- signed a treaty last Friday in Brasilia on the creation of Unasur aimed at boosting economic integration and political cohesion in the region.
I have to find my old Monopoly games.
Bookmark For later read. G’night dear FReepin FRiends.
Hemispheric integration marches on...
Doesn’t Ecuador use the U.S. Dollar now as its currency having given up on the sucre in 2000?
I don’t see how a common currency is going to work without a common central bank. There is no way countries like Venezuela will be able to resist running the printing press once they know they can spread the affects of inflation across the entire region. It’s hard enough for the Europeans to resist.
Pieces falling into place for a one world currency.
We used to have a universal global currency. It was called GOLD.
All this stuff is making me distraught.
UNASUR will have a central bank: Banco del Sur, the Bank Of The South.
"The Bank of the South — once just a gleam in the eye of South American leaders — now has a due date.Of course, the future of the Banco del Sur and UNASUR are far from certain. Keep in mind that Chavez is the monkeywrench in the UNASUR plan. According to what I've read, his economic policies and antagonism toward Colombia are the main obstacles to making the Union of South African Nations more than a mere paper union.Finance Ministers from seven nations announced Monday that the multinational funding institute, which will operate similarly to the Inter-American Development Bank, will be founded Nov. 3 in Caracas, Venezuela.
The bank is the brainchild of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has been promoting it as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund, which he blames for perpetuating poverty and contributing to inflation in Latin America.
'We can now say that the Bank of the South is about to become reality,' Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega told reporters in Rio de Janeiro. 'It will finance integration and will be open to all of South America's 12 countries.'" Source
QUESTION: I am Juan Carlos Calderon, Editor of Expreso daily. You have been very critical of President Chavez, and he is part of a very active policy in reference to the formation of the FUNDASUR and also of what has been the so called oil diplomacy. How does the U.S. see this South American union? Does the U.S. consider that Chavez has too much influence in the region?
DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: First of all I don’t think I have ever personally criticized Mr. Chavez. We make comments about his policies, some of which we have serious reservations about, but as far as our agenda is concerned with Venezuela, we have diplomatic relations, we have an Embassy there and we are always open to working on the various issues that exist between us. With respect to Mr. Chavez’s ideas with respect to the Southern Hemisphere, I have no particular comment in that regard. What I prefer to focus on is our own agenda. We have a positive agenda towards the Western Hemisphere. President Bush just completed a very important visit to many countries in the region. I am visiting here. We want to have a constructive agenda that is based on common values and support for democracy. We want to base our relations on increased trade, and generally improved relations between the countries of this hemisphere.
Press Availability With Ecuadorian Media Outlets
John D. Negroponte, Deputy Secretary of State
Thomas A. Shannon, Assistant Secretary for Western
May 9, 2007 http://www.state.gov/s/d/2007/84693.htm
South African? Did I miss something?
FMCDH(BITS)
U.A.R. was a mistake, too.
U. of S. A. isn't doing well, either.
yitbos
So much for the Amero. Even the Banana Republics don’t trust the US dollar. What does that say about the state of the US economy?
As I understand it, the proposed “amero” would be the currency of the North American Union only. I don’t think the folks backing the NAU envision the new currency being used anywhere but in the NAU (i.e. Canada, Mexico, and the USA).
Thanks. I’m not very up on my Amero. With the US dollar bieng the world’s reserve currency, I know a change to an “Amero” is an impossibility unless or until the US$ completely collapses and must be replaced. I don’t see that happening, but that is the only possible introduction for the mythical “Amero”.
Any one that blends their currency with Venezuela or Bolivia is begging for trouble.
First: "creation of Unasur will allow cross-nation construction of railroads, highways, bridges, and transmission lines"
IIRSA is the South American plan on infrastructure integration, but as noted there is enormous cost. Which takes you to the second passage.
"the alliance will make negotiations with other blocs easier"
The other blocs would be the USA, EU, or China. In the case of the USA, the unifying trade document would be FTAA. Along with the opening of markets there would be consideration of capital inflows to SA for the integrated infrastructure. Along with this are the strings such as market reforms and democratic reforms that the EU or the USA might insist on but China might not.
While everyone agrees on the need for this, everyone has disputes on how it should be done. IN SA and USA there are disputes between left and right or dems and GOP. There is also a strong populist movement in SA and USA undermining this.
Nothing to see here. Move along! All is well!
As we slide closer and closer to Napoleon’s, Hitler’s, and Stalin’s dreams.
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