Decoration from the inauguration event of the new UNASUR headquarters in Quito, Ecuador, December 5, 2014. Photo: Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ecuador.
The government of Argentina announced its formal return to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) after nearly four years outside the organization. The announcement was made by Argentinian Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero on Wednesday, April 5.
“By sovereign decision, Argentina returns to UNASUR as a member state to promote its institutional revitalization and build an increasingly integrated region,” Cafiero wrote on his Twitter account.
Por decisión soberana, la Argentina vuelve a la @unasur como Estado Miembro para promover su revitalización institucional y construir una región cada vez más integrada.
Asà lo dispuso el presidente @alferdez y se lo comuniqué a los cancilleres de los estados miembros. pic.twitter.com/W7nnWqT7fN
— Santiago Cafiero (@SantiagoCafiero) April 6, 2023
Minister Cafiero attached official documentation of the announcement, through which the government of Argentina communicated the will of President Alberto Fernández to return to UNASUR to foreign ministers of the other member states, to his message.
“By instruction of President Alberto Fernández and with the objective of continuing the participation of our country as a member state of UNASUR, a new Instrument of Ratification will be sent as soon as possible,” reads the text, dated April 5.
The statement added that the announcement “is part of the sovereign decision to reverse the path initiated through the communication of denunciation” of the Constitutive Treaty of the UNASUR, made on April 12, 2019 by then-President Mauricio Macri declaring Argentina’s departure from the bloc.
Evo Morales’ reaction
The former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, welcomed the return of Argentina to UNASUR.
“We welcome the decision of our brother, President Alberto Fernández, who confirmed Argentina’s return to UNASUR,” Morales posted on Twitter. “South American integration is a guarantee of the sovereignty, solidarity, and brotherhood of the free peoples of the Patria Grande.”
Saludamos la decisiĂłn del hermano presidente @alferdez que confirmĂł el retorno de #Argentina a @unasur. La integraciĂłn sudamericana es garantĂa de soberanĂa, solidaridad y hermandad de los pueblos libres de la #PatriaGrande. pic.twitter.com/wZs75hpvKl
— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) April 6, 2023
The aim of Argentina’s return to the bloc is “to promote the institutional revitalization of UNASUR,” stated the document shared by the Argentinian foreign minister.
Argentina’s return to UNASUR “gives the country an option of integration that does not exclude any other,” the document added.
UNASUR was founded in 2008 by progressive governments in South America with the intention of enhancing cultural, social, and commercial exchange throughout the continent and with other regions of the world.
However, the return of the right wing to power in various countries commenced the persecution of progressive leaders in the region along with partnerships with the United States in its hybrid war against Venezuela, one of the founding members of UNASUR. The bloc entered into crisis in 2018 and has remained paralyzed since April 2019; Recently, though, with the election of Lula, one of the historical leaders of UNASUR, as the president of Brazil, hope for the revival of the organization has returned.
(Sputnik) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/KZ
