A new bloc: what is Runasur, the alliance promoted by Evo Morales and includes Argentina

LA PAZ – Former President of Bolivia Evo Morales announced this week the launch of Runasur, an alternative forum to the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), whose objective will be articulating a multinational America in coordination with Latin American social movements.

Representatives of Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina, who make up the technical team of the forum gathered in recent days in Cochabamba, to establish the guiding principles and launch the new regional integration area.

Its name is formed from the conjunction of the Quechua word Runa (man) and the acronym Unasur, so it condenses the idea of a Unasur of man and peoples, as its promoters explain at a time when Unasur remains in an institutional coma with a strong division between the governments of the region.

The idea of ​​this new regional integration space was raised by Evo a day after his return to Bolivia, after a year of exile, when the former president took advantage of the visit of international delegations and launched the proposition then described as a “Unasur of indigenous peoples”.

“Runasur has one goal, to unite social movements – be they indigenous, workers, middle class and teachers – with professional intellectuals and the goal is to fight for a true liberation of all multinational America from peoples to peoples“Evo proposed in the conclusions of the first meeting organized last Saturday by the technical team composed of Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Argentina.

“Plurinational America incompatible with capitalism, imperialism”Added Evo, with the group that defined the guiding principles of the organization and established its organic structure yesterday.

In this regard, the President of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), Jaime Vargas, explained that “the Council of Representatives is the highest authority of the body and is structured in the operational part, which is the executive board.

Within the operational executive council, the following councils are integrated: cPolitical system advice, educational advice, legal advice and economic adviceSaid Vargas.

He also explained that the Council of Representatives – the highest level of deliberation and decision-making in the forum – will be made up of representatives of social organizations and indigenous peoples from different countries.

Runasur will have a central headquarters which will be Bolivia and four sub-offices in the North, South, East and West regions, according to Kawsachun Coca radio.

The objective is integrate the 12 countries of the region, for which the Bolivian side has already committed to contact and inform social organizations in Peru and Paraguay.

Argentina will do the same with Brazil and Uruguay; Ecuador will take care of Colombia and Chile; and Venezuela from Suriname and Guyana.

In its constitution, it was established that the Runasur is an anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, complementary, sovereign and articulated body; and in his first resolution entitled “Defense of life and health”, he called for the issuance of patents for the Covid-19 vaccine to ensure its free access.

“The forum is still in its infancy. We had a first meeting in December with social organizations and indigenous peoples from across the continent.. Then we had virtual meetings, ”said the deputy secretary of the Central de Trabajadores de Argentina (CTA) and the general secretary of the ATE, Hugo godoy, one of those who attended the first face-to-face technical team meeting held last weekend at Villa Tunari, Cochabamba.

Godoy explained that from Runasur it will be necessary recreating Unasur and strengthening the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac)“We are going to build in Latin America and the Caribbean the great homeland, the multinational America that we encourage” because “new institutions of governments, of our countries, are necessary. without the interference of the United States, nor the interference of this “ Ministry of Colonies ” that is the OAS (Organization of American States), chaired by the coup leader (Luis) Almagro ”, concluded the union leader.

The Runasur project seeks an integration that transcends the political conjuncture and strengthens the unity of Latin American social, indigenous and trade union movements that aspire to a common goal: the political, economic and cultural sovereignty of peoples.

This integration space is an alternative to Unasur, explained Morales at the Cochabamba meeting and accused the “right-wing governments” of the region of having “crushed” this regional organization.

Unasur came into being in 2008 with the signing of the Constitutive Treaty, which entered into force in 2011 and was originally incorporated by the Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The changes in the political sign of the governments of the subcontinent, however, have meant that In April 2018, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Colombia and Paraguay will announce the suspension of their participation in this bloc. In 2019, Ecuador joined this outing and in 2020, Uruguay.

Today, the regional scenario has changed a bit and, in 2020, Venezuela pledged to relaunch Unasur this year, a promise not yet fulfilled, although shared by the governments of Argentina and Bolivia.

Telam Agency

THE NATION