Geo-Delphos

THE SOUTH AMERICAN NEIGHBOURHOOD.RELATIONS OF PERMANENT CONFLICTS DUE TO THE IMPOSSIBILITY TO OVERCOME ITS HISTORICAL PAST THAT REPRESENTS A POLITICAL IMMATURITY THAT DELAY THE DEVELOPMENT[/lang_en][lang_es]LA VECINDAD SUDAMERICANA, RELACIONES DE CONFLICTOS PERMANENTES POR NO SUPERAR SUS PASADOS HISTÓRICOS, QUE DEMUESTRAN UNA INMADUREZ POLÍTICA QUE RETRASA EL DESARROLLO

During the last years we have been witnesses of a variety of South American conflicts, which have shaped its respective foreign policies. This reflects to the world the image of an unstable region which affects the interests of the big investors, delaying the development, mostly in times of crisis.

Let us see some examples of this unfortunately South American reality:

The relations between Ecuador and Colombia are broken since march 3, two days after the colombian military attack to a FARC clandestine camp located in Ecuadorian territory, where Raul Reyes the guerrila leader dead. The thesis of Quito says “considering that it is a colombian internal problem, there is an unbalanced distribution of means and resourses that both countries send to the frontier”.

The Colombian Minister of Defense said that the problem is not in the frontiers, the main colombian concern focuses on the central areas of the country and not in far areas like Putumayo.

If both governments face this problem with a joint vision, results would be much more efficient to defeat the guerrilla and terrorism.

The relations between Colombia and Venezuela are currently affected by an interview recorded and divulgated this weekend by the Venezuelan State Televison Channel. The Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez gave instructions to the Ambassador in Caracas to present to the Foreign Minister in Venezuela a diplomatic claim. Bermudez referred in the San Carlos Palace to the telephone conversation about the elections of past november in Venezuela, held between the Consul Carlos Galvis and the presidential advisor José Obdulio Gaviria. On the tape it is possible to understand how does Galvis reported to Gaviria the triumph of two oppositor candidates against the President Hugo Chavez. “Both (the winner of Zulia and the winner of Maracaibo County) are very good friends and I think that for our work there it should be fantastic, said Galvis. The conflicts between Venezuelan and Colombian are historic, is a reality located in the colective thought of both nations.

The relations between Argentina and Uruguay are in conflict. The pulp mill conflict between Argentina and Uruguay is an ongoing conflict between private citizens, organizations, and the governments of these two South American countries about the construction of pulp mills on the Uruguay River. As a diplomatic, economic, and public relations conflict between both parties, the dispute has also affected tourism and transportation as well as the otherwise amicable relations between the two countries. The feud is unprecedented between the two countries, which have shared historical and cultural ties. A large group of 10,000-20,000 people (residents of Gualeguaychú and nearby, as well as environmental groups from Argentina) blocked the international Libertador General San Martín Bridge (between Gualeguaychú and Fray Bentos) protesting the installation of the pulp mills. The block organized by Gualeguaychú environmental citizen group, with the authorization of the eastern government of the Argentinian province of Entre Rios, got increased during the last days and the relations between Buenos Aires and Montevideo got distance. The organizers threat continuing with this strong protests many days more even weeks. About 200 argentinians protesters have kept closed the route to the bridge, between Puerto Unzué about 22 kilometers from the argentinian city of Gualeguaychú and Fray Bentos, the capital of the western uruguayan department of Río Negro. This is a conflict that put to test all the preach about regional integration. If this conflict goes deeper the interchanges between both countries could be paralized and could strongly affects Mercosur. From this point of view, Brazil could have a great interest in terms of a friendly intervention to mediate for the solution of the conflict.

The relations between Chile and Peru are crossed by a bordering conflict since the Peruvian government promulgated a law which modifies the maritime border in the Pacific coast, arising a dispute of a 35,000 square kilometers of fishing area. The Peruvian government asked to the The Haige International Court for a solution of the maritime dispute, which is currently in progress.

The Commander General of the Peruvian Army said “any Chilean will leave Peru alive” This declaration put pressure on the relations between both countries. The Peruvian opposite party stay firm about the Chilean demand in terms of General Edwin Donayre´s destitution The Peruvian Chancellor José Antonio García Belaunde said that “the General will be retired on december 5, as it were programed”. In the meantime the Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley said that the government will adopt very clear decisions if the Peruvian Government does not call Gen. Donayre to retirement. “We are going to wait a prudential time and if the solution does not come up, we are going to make very clear decisions with the total Chilean support”. After his participation in the senate foreign affairs commision he said “ What we are waiting are actions, acts, and no words.”

As we see, South America is very far to conform European organizations,while they do not mature the permanent conflicts that are generated between the South American States, often for historical reasons, others by lack of capacity of understanding of their political elites, others for reasons of disloyal competitions, others to reach the power, and finally some by lack of a common geostrategic vision.

In addition, there are interests that are stimulated from outside the continent, which always try to put a wedge to avoid that a true integration can be generated, this for example, through environmentalist groups, defending assumptions of the original ethnic groups and ONGs, which stimulate and finance projects which has anything to do with stability of governments. Great powers stimulate an arms race

. While these disadvantages are not solved, nor it is counted on a governing class composed by true statesmen, who understand that communal property and the prosperity of its nations happens through a common vision of the continent in front of the world, where are due to add efforts and not to reduce them, we will follow sunk in conflicts that the only thing that do is to delay to the development and the well-being of all the South American nations.

All the efforts for union have failed ¿ Until when the soutamerican countries could stand this?

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