Lula talks about overcoming differences between countries to resume Unasur

In the opening speech of the Meeting of Presidents of South America, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) once again defended the union and integration of the countries of South America. Prioritizing the resumption of Unasur, the PT party gathered leaders from 11 countries in the subcontinent to discuss topics such as social and economic union of the countries that make up the bloc.

“We understand that South American integration is essential for strengthening the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean […] I am firmly convinced that we need to revive our commitment to South American integration,” said Lula. Currently, seven countries are part of Unasur, including Brazil. The group broke up in mid-2017, when right-wing leaders began to assume the presidency of the countries that integrated the group.

In his opening speech, Lula spoke about the need to put these differences aside and defended that the group “learn from the mistakes of the past” in order to consolidate itself. “Allowing disagreements to prevail would have a high cost, in addition to wasting much that we have already built together,” she said.

The president also listed a series of topics that would be discussed by the heads of state of the South American countries and ended by saying that the group would have “120 days to present a road map for the integration of South America”.