Runasur, the configuration of left-wing parties in South America

The former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, has been promoting Runasur, the bloc of Latin American social movements made up of Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina, agreed to convene a meeting in Cusco (Peru) for next December 20 and 21.

This was one of the points of the so-called “Declaration of Buenos Aires”, issued at the end of the second technical meeting of Runasur on Wednesday, held in Buenos Aires with representatives of various countries.

The Runasur, an alternative forum to Hugo Chávez’s Union of South American Nations (Unasur), aims to articulate a Plurinational America in coordination with Latin American social movements.

Last April, Morales identified Runasur as a Unasur of the peoples “after the“ right-wing countries crushed ”that regional bloc.

The internationalist Juan Antonio Velit, pointed out that we would have to understand that the intention of Evo Morales is to seek a space for the integration of left-wing parties and it is expected that it will be from a democratic left.

“The case of Evo Morales and his Runasur, which is their path towards the integration of democratic leftist countries, is to strengthen positions, to support each other, to find a way to integrate and that in case the regimes are affected, then the other governments from the left support them, ”he explained.

Why does Morales look to Peru? “There is a closeness of the ruling party with the socialist party of Evo Morales; It is one of the strongest twinned parties; there is also a geographical proximity between the two countries and because Bolivia has been the highest Peru, it is the closest country to Peru that exists in South America ”, Velit mentions.

However, it highlights that the government of President Pedro Castillo and Peru Libre have a clear ideological democratic left position. “But it is divided, one part is linked to Pedro Castillo with the democratic left and the other to Vladimir Cerrón, who is an extreme left.”

“Peru can be taken to the position of Evo Morales, but President Castillo knows that if he gets too close to Bolivia, Peru becomes very vulnerable because trade and international trade would not target our country,” he warned gestion.pe.

Along these lines, the internationalist Óscar Vidarte pointed out that this is one of the many spaces that exist to articulate proposals that can be taken, at all levels, but should not cause astonishment or concern.

“We should ask ourselves, how much influence does Morales have, or what political and economic capacity does Venezuela have to mobilize Chileans? Beyond articulations and dialogues, we must be careful to think that an impact or influence is generated, and we will see each other in another Sao Paulo Forum, which articulates the president and social movements ”, he commented.

South America

At another time Velit pointed out that the left is optimistic in South America. “I would dare to say that in America, because in Mexico it also has a leftist position despite its closeness to the US, it maintains its doctrinal identification.”

“In South America there is a current that is precisely what Evo Morales has perceived and that takes advantage of the wave that is taking place to raise his political conception of Runasur, and some elements warn of the possibility of leftist governments,” he said.

Along these lines, he added that one of the objectives is for Lula da Silva to be the next president of Brazil, if he carries out his candidacy.

In turn, Vidarte commented that South America is more heterogeneous than it seems. “It is necessary to differentiate, in the Andean area -especially in Colombia, Peru and Chile – that had not experienced this progressive wave, with some delay, they are experiencing these processes of criticism.”

In the Peruvian case, it was channeled through an electoral process that brought Pedro Castillo to the presidency; while in the case of Chile it was done through protests that led them to a Constituent Assembly; and in the case of Colombia, it has Gustavo Petro, as a favorite in the polls as the next president.

“What happens in the rest of South America is that the left did not disappear, it is there and it still has a lot of political weight in the region. And the right in some way would not have met expectations in a very difficult economic context for the region, which has allowed the left to return, as in the case of Argentina, Bolivia and that Lula da Silva is the favorite in Brazil, “he details. .

Although the exception is Ecuador, Vidarte recalls that Rafael Correo’s candidate came in second place.

“There was an attempt to turn to the right, but it was shown that the left continues to have a lot of political weight and continues to have a presence. The right wing has not been able to construct a discourse and what we see now is that it is radicalizing it, “he concluded.

To remember

Unasur was born in 2008, promoted by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, and underpinned by other regional leaders such as the Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the late Argentine ex-president Néstor Kirchner, and the then rulers of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, and Bolivia, Evo Morales.

The crisis in the organization began in 2017 when the twelve member states could not agree on a new secretary general and it became more critical when in April 2018 Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru suspended their participation and financing.