By IPS Correspondents
SANTIAGO, Jan 27 2005 (IPS)

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero and Uruguayan president-elect Tabaré Vázquez took part in a “socialist mini-summit” in Santiago with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos on Thursday, where the three leftist leaders discussed new strategies for integration.

While Zapatero reiterated his desire to promote closer ties between the European Union (EU) and Latin America, Vázquez and Lagos agreed on the need to strengthen the political dimension of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).

Vázquez, who will take office on Mar. 1, was invited as Lagos’ special guest at the official activities held during Zapatero’s visit to Chile, the last stop on a South American tour that also took the Spanish leader to Brazil and Argentina.

Lagos, Zapatero and Vázquez shared a private working breakfast at the Chilean president’s residence, where they studied prospects for reinforcing both bilateral relations and international cooperation, including the building of a “transatlantic bridge” connecting the EU and Mercosur.

In Chile, Lagos is considered the “natural leader” of the Socialist and Pro-Democracy Parties that make up the progressive wing of the Concertación por la Democracia, the centre-left coalition that has ruled the South American nation since the return to democracy in 1990, after 17 years of dictatorship under Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

The coalition also includes the Radical Social Democratic and Christian Democratic Parties. The latter shared ties with the previous Spanish government led by José María Aznar of the Popular Party (PP).

When Zapatero and his Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) were brought to power by the March 2003 elections, he shifted the focus of Spain’s foreign policy away from the United States – of which Aznar was a loyal ally – towards closer integration with the EU and stronger ties with Latin America.

Vázquez, who like Lagos is considered a moderate socialist, will be sworn in as the president of Uruguay on Mar. 1 after leading the leftist Broad Front coalition to victory at the polls last November, ending the 150-year stronghold on power held by the conservative Colorado and Blanco Parties.

“The presence of Zapatero and Vázquez in Santiago at the same time led to the holding of this ‘socialist mini-summit’ of three leaders known for being both progressive and realistic in terms of their international stances,” a Chilean foreign ministry official told IPS.

During his South American tour, Zapatero also strengthened the ties between Spain and the governments of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil and Néstor Kirchner in Argentina, both of whom also subscribe to the need for Latin America to forge closer links with Europe, as a counterbalance to U.S. dominance over the region, said the same source.

Analysts view this virtual bloc formed by the Southern Cone and Spain as an attempt to revive multilateralism, in the face of the George W. Bush administration’s bids to impose unipolar control.

At the same time, however, these leaders have not been known to adopt an openly belligerent stance towards the United States, which differentiates them from the more radical alliance formed by Presidents Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro of Cuba, according to international experts.

The meetings held by the three socialist leaders in Santiago gave rise to a statement in support of Brazilian President Lula’s attempts to mediate in the current conflict between Chávez and Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, sparked by the kidnapping in Venezuela of Colombian guerrilla leader Rodrigo Granda.

While in Santiago, Zapatero reiterated his willingness to help settle trade disputes, such as the Chile-EU frictions over salmon.

He also called the Spanish business community to invest in small and medium-sized businesses in Latin America.

Vázquez agreed with Lagos on the need to expand the scope of integration within Mercosur, with a greater emphasis on political integration, as opposed to a mere customs union.

Chile has been an associate member of Mercosur since 1996. In 1991, when the bloc was first formed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, Chile abstained from becoming a full member, on the basis of the supposed incompatibility of its tariff system.

“We share a common vision with Uruguay in terms of how we should develop, how we should achieve growth, and how we should adopt social policies,” said Lagos, who praised Vazquez’s plans to confront the “social emergency” in his country when he takes power.

For his part, the Uruguayan president-elect spoke of joining forces to “search for concrete solutions to improve the living conditions of our peoples. Latin America needs to develop its own political project to genuinely improve the living conditions of the population,” he said.

Vázquez added that this is a political task that will require the combined efforts and wills of both Mercosur and the Andean Community (made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela).

The future Uruguayan leader also committed his government’s support for the candidacy of Chilean Interior Minister José Miguel Insulza for the post of secretary general of the Organisation of American States (OAS).

On that same day, the Bush administration announced the U.S. government’s endorsement of former Salvadoran president Francisco Flores as a candidate for the same position.

The socialist parties of Zapatero, Lagos and Vázquez are all members of the Socialist International.

(END/IPS/LA EU/IP/TRASP-LN-LD/GGR/MJ/05)

Excerpt: