Unasur collapse underscores regional divisions

The decision of half-a-dozen of the largest member states to quit the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) highlights the growing divisions between governments in the region.

Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Paraguay all pulled out of the entity, which was once touted as a rival to the Organization of American States (OAS) in terms of influence in the continent. The governments concerned cited a lack of organization, including the absence of a secretary general since early 2017. Market-friendly governments have replaced socialist-minded leaders Brazil and Argentina in recent years.

The 12 member organization, which dates back to the founding of the South American Community of Nations in Peru in 2004, became Unasur at a regional meeting in Brazil four years later, with the other members being Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Bolivia, which currently has the nominal rotating presidency of the organization, called an urgent Unasur meeting for May, foreign minister Fernando Huanacuni said via Twitter. The withdrawal of the six member states does not constitute a judgment of Bolivia's leadership at Unasur, Huanacuni told state news agency ABI.

Bolivian President Evo Morales is an outspoken critic of US policy, OAS secretary general Luis Almagro and free-market governments in the region. Regimes sympathetic to Bolivia backed the existence of Unasur, however.

"The full existence of Unasur is indispensable because it represents an instance of integration that attends to people's needs," Ecuador's foreign ministry said in a statement. "Regional unity, dialogue and negotiations are indispensable as instruments to solve recent institutional issues."

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, meanwhile, condemned the withdrawal, attributing it to pressure from the US.

"Unasur is the legacy of all the people," Maduro said in a statement. "I have faith that Evo Morales will push ahead along the road of the organism."

The divisions between free-market governments and socialist regimes were clearly on view at the Summit of the Americas held in Lima in mid-April, when several heads of state condemned Maduro's regime, while Bolivia and Cuba were its lone defenders.

Unasur has done little to mediate in the growing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela which has forced 2mn to flee, while other organisms such as the OAS have condemned next month's presidential elections, largely branded as illegitimate.

The Venezuelan crisis has become more acute since 2014 due to slumping prices of crude oil, which accounts for 95% of the country's export revenue. Venezuela, a member of OPEC, holds the world's largest oil reserves but has seen production dwindle to an estimated 1.9Mb/d from over 3Mb/d in 1997.

Maduro rose to power as an ally of then president Hugo Chávez, who began his socialist revolution in 1999. Maduro succeeded Chávez upon his death in 2013. The presidential term lasts six years.