The Andean Community is a free trade area with the objective of creating a customs union comprising the South American countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact until 1996 and came into existence when the Cartagena Agreement was signed in 1969. Its headquarters are in Lima, Peru.
The Union of South American Nations (USAN), sometimes also referred to as the South American Union, abbreviated in Spanish as UNASUR and in Portuguese as UNASUL, is an intergovernmental regional organization. It once comprised twelve South American countries; as of 2019, most have withdrawn. It was set up by Hugo Chavez to counteract the influence of the United States in the region.
A continental union is a regional organization which facilitates pan-continental integration. Continental unions vary from collaborative intergovernmental organizations, to supranational politico-economic unions. Continental unions are a relatively new type of political entity in the history of human government. Throughout most of human history, political organization has been at the local level and in more recent centuries, the sub-regional ("regional")/sub-continental level ; however, starting with the advent of better transportation, weapons and communication there was for the first time the ability for a union of member states to organize at the continental level. After the devastation of the First and Second World Wars in the middle of the twentieth century, Europe began to slowly integrate with the founding of the "European Community", which became a political union covering much of the European continent.
The Andean Parliament is the governing and deliberative body of the Andean Community, conformed by representatives of its four member states Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and one associate member, Chile. It is composed of 25 parliamentarians, five representing each state.
The IBSA Dialogue Forum is an international tripartite grouping for promoting international cooperation among these countries. It represents three important poles for galvanizing South–South cooperation and greater understanding between three important continents of the developing world namely, Africa, Asia, and South America. The forum provides the three countries with a platform to engage in discussions for cooperation in the field of agriculture, trade, culture, and defence among others.
The Argentina–Brazil relationship is both close and historical, and encompasses the economy, trade, culture, education, and tourism. From war and rivalry to friendship and alliance, this complex relationship has spanned more than two centuries. The countries also share a system of government, a federal republic with a presidential system.
The South American Parliament is a proposed body of the Union of South American Nations (USAN).
The President Pro Tempore of the Union of South American Nations is the head position and representative of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). At international meetings, declarations and concerted opinions of the supranational organism are presented by the President Pro Tempore. The office is exercised for a one-year period on a pro tempore basis by one of the heads of state of each UNASUR Member State, the succession following alphabetical order. The most recent president was the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, who served, as acknowledged by unasursg.org, between 17 April 2018 and 16 April 2019.
The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuela is a full member but has been suspended since 1 December 2016. Associate countries are, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname. Bolivia became a full member on July 8, 2024.
The Summit of South American-Arab Countries is a bi-regional mechanism for cooperation and political coordination, which gathers the 22 member-States of the League of Arab States and the 12 countries of South America. Better known by its Portuguese and Spanish acronym ASPA, the bi-regional forum was created upon proposal of the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during the I ASPA Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Brasilia, Brazil, in May 2005. Since its inception, a second ASPA Summit happened in Doha, Qatar, in March 2009, and a third Summit was held in Lima, Peru, in October 2012, after being postponed, from February 2011, due to the Arab Spring uprisings.
The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is a regional bloc of Latin American and Caribbean states proposed on February 23, 2010, at the Rio Group–Caribbean Community Unity Summit, and created on December 3, 2011, in Caracas, Venezuela, with the signing of the Declaration of Caracas. It consists of 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and has five official languages.
The Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations is the legal representative of the Secretariat of the Union of South American Nations (USAN).
The 2010 South American summit, took place in Georgetown, Guyana on November 26, 2010. Eight heads of state and four foreign ministers of the Union of South American Nations attended the summit. During the summit, the leaders signed an additional protocol to the Constitutive Treaty, adding a democratic clause to the charter of the organization. The Georgetown summit ended with the Ecuadorian president handing the UNASUR pro-tempore presidency for the next twelve months to his Guyanese counterpart, Bharrat Jagdeo.
Ricardo Armando Patiño Aroca is an Ecuadorian politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador from 2010 until 2016, under the government of President Rafael Correa. Previously he was Minister of Finance and Minister of the Coast. He is one of the ideologists of The Citizens' Revolution who with Correa wanted to gradually introduce a democratic socialist government in Ecuador. On 4 March 2016, he was named as Defense Minister by President Correa.
The South American Institute of Government in Health (ISAGS) is a public intergovernamental institution of UNASUR whose main goal is to promote exchange, critical thinking, knowledge management and generate innovation in policy and governance for health, thus offering South American Health Ministries the best available practices and evidences on health management. It was created by the Heads of State and Government of UNASUR after a proposal of the South American Council of Health gathered in Cuenca, Ecuador, in April 2010. According to the institute's Executive Director José Gomes Temporão, "Isags works in alliance with experts and networks present in the twelve countries of South America to foster the best practices in health to the 400 million inhabitants of this part of the world".
The Council of South American Defense is a mechanism that aims to promote the exchange of safety among the countries that make up the Union of South American Nations, such as military exchanges, experiences in peacekeeping missions, military exercises, confidence-building measures, and mutual and co-ordinated assistance in areas of natural disasters.
Alberto A. Guani Amarilla is a Uruguayan diplomat.
Mercosur Cities Network, or simply Mercocities, is a network that unites a group of municipalities of the countries that participate in the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), whether they are members or associates. This organization of cities aims to promote their integration on a regional scale and stimulate development and cooperation between them.
The Forum for the Progress and Integration of South America is an initiative by Sebastián Piñera and Iván Duque, for the creation of an integration body to replace the Union of South American Nations.
The President pro tempore of Mercosur (PPT) is the highest legal-political representative pro tempore of the Southern Common Market (Mercosul). The office is held for a six-month period by a head of State of one of the State members. It is alternated, in alphabetical order, among the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
