Bouterse visits Brazil
President Desi Bouterse on Tuesday left for Brazil to visit his Brazilian counterpart, Michel Temer. Bouterse reportedly met Temer at the Palacio de Planalato, the Office of the President in Brazil. Sources told Times of Suriname that both heads of state discussed the development cooperation between both nations and the geopolitical developments in South America. The region is currently divided and Brazil deems it time to talk things out. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru last month decided to temporarily leave the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) given differences over choosing the secretary general of the group. Paraguay’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the impossibility of electing a general secretary for UNASUR affects the bloc and that the six countries that will remain outside it until they see “concrete results that guarantee its operation.” Unasur was promoted by late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela remain in the bloc. An anonymous Peruvian official told news agency Reuters that deep divisions between countries have made Unasur rudderless.
“Unasur works by consensus but the differences between its members’ political and economic views are so great it can no longer operate,” the diplomat told Reuters. Bolivia will reportedly call an emergency meeting this month to solve disputes in the bloc.
Since its foundation, the governments of a number of member states have shifted to the right while the socialist-run Venezuela has become increasingly authoritarian. Venezuela’s economic collapse and political turmoil post-Chavez has divided the region. At the OAS Summit of the Americas in Peru last month, the United States joined Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Paraguay in condemning Venezuelan May 20 elections that they say will cement a dictatorship under President Nicolas Maduro. President Maduro has already condemned the smear campaign against his administration and country. He has reportedly invited the OAS and other nations to his country as observers during the elections in order to present the evidence that the elections are fair and transparent. President Bouterse and President Temer reportedly inked several cooperation agreements. President Bouterse was accompanied by First Lady Ingrid Bouterse-Waldring, Foreign Affairs (Buza) Minister Yldiz Pollack-Beighle, Defense Minister Ronni Benschop, Agriculture, Fisheries and Stockbreeding Minister Lekhram Soerdjan and Justice and Police Minister Stuart Getrouw.