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South American Community of Nations

"CSN"
 
     
 
Economic Community

CSN

 EU NAFTA
inhabitant

367 Mio

456 Mio

431 Mio
members 12 25 3
surface (km²) 17.715.335 3.977.487 21.588.638
gross domestic product (BIP/$) 2,63 Bio 11,06 Bio 12,88 Bio
foreign country owe ($) 315.000.000.000    

     
The South American Community of Nations (CSN) (Spanish: Comunidad Sudamericana de Naciones, Portuguese: Comunidade Sul-Americana de Nações, Dutch: Zuid-Amerikaanse Statengemeenschap) will be a continent-wide free trade zone that will unite two existing free-trade organizations—Mercosur and the Andean Community—eliminating tariffs for non-sensitive products by 2014 and sensitive products by 2019. The headquarters of this new organization will be in Lima while the South American Bank will be in Brasilia according to the agreements during the meetings. Complete integration between the Andean Community and Mercosur into the South American Community of Nations is expected by 2007.
 

Dignitaries attend the signing of the Cuzco Declaration

South American leaders sign the Cuzco Declaration
Dignitaries attend the signing of the Cuzco Declaration South American leaders sign the Cuzco Declaration

At the Third South American Summit, on 8 December 2004, presidents or representatives from twelve South American nations signed the Cuzco Declaration, a two-page statement of intent, announcing the foundation of the South American Community. Panama attended the signing ceremony as observer.

Leaders announced their intention to model the new community after the European Union, including a common currency, parliament, and passport. According to Allan Wagner, Secretary General of the Andean Community, a complete union like that of the EU should be possible by 2019.

The mechanics of the new entity should come out at the First South American Community of Nations Heads of State Summit, to be held in Brasilia, in September 29-30 2005. A constitution is also expected to be drafted in 2005. The Second Summit will be held in Bolivia. No new institutions will be created in the first phase, so as not to increase bureaucracy, and the community will use the existing institutions belonging to the previous trade blocs.

 

 
Simón Bolívar—known as El Libertador ("The Liberator"), directly responsible for the independence of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the early years of the 19th century, and honored with statues in the capital cities of practically every American nation—had the goal of creating a federation of Spanish American nations to ensure prosperity and security after independence. Bolívar never achieved this goal, and died an unpopular figure because of his heavy-handed attempts to establish strong central governments in the nations he led to independence.
 

 

 
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