The lesson of the Uruguayans – 01/25/2023 – Maria Hermínia Tavares

The gesture of the Uruguayan president, Luis Lacalle Pou, went almost unnoticed, when two predecessors took office: Julio María Sanguinetti (1985-1990 and 1995-2000) and José “Pepe” Mujica (2010-2015).
Lacalle Pou is a member of the right-wing National Party; Sanguinetti is Colorado, downtown; and Mujica, an icon of the left, was elected by a coalition of progressive forces, the “Frente Amplio”. The presence of the trio in Brasilia strengthened the principle that relations between Uruguay and Brazil are from State to State —above, therefore, party disputes in the neighboring country.

This week, by the way, Lula’s trip to Buenos Aires marked the resurgence of Brazilian regional diplomacy, neglected by the Bolsonaro government. On Monday (23), the head of the Planalto Palace visited his counterpart Alberto Fernández at Casa Rosada, where they signed a substantial joint declaration.

The following day, the Brazilian spoke at the Summit meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), formed by the 33 countries of the region. At the opening of the works, Fernández, also president of the entity, welcomed the return of Brazil to the organization, from which he had been absent since 2020. He said, no less, that without the country, Celac is “much emptier”. For his part, Lula emphatically ratified Brazil’s return.

The history of Latin America records numerous efforts to build multilateral organizations that foster economic cooperation and political coordination to act in harmony in the region and in world forums.

All of them ultimately contributed to strengthening a tradition of peaceful relations on the continent. However, the challenge of permanence remained to be overcome, given the scarce complementarity between neighboring economies, not to mention the great political instability in the surroundings. Created in the wake of the first “pink wave”, Unasur (Union of South American Nations) is just the latest victim to succumb to the ebb and flow of politics in each nation.

In Latin America, more than in any other part of the world, presidential elections and crises have led to alternations in power between very different forces. Building strong and long-lasting regional bodies requires delicate institutional engineering and a lot of cool heads from the leaders of each country in the face of neighboring electoral disputes.

Upon his return, Brazil will be able to fill the void left by his absence and play a relevant role in this endeavor. For that, more than the experience of the first Lula administration (2003-2006), it is fundamental to learn now from the Uruguayans.

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