It is clear that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva failed in his main objective for hosting a summit of South American leaders on Tuesday: to push for the recreation of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) — a now-defunct left-leaning multilateral body created in 2008 — or a similar bloc in the region.
In a press conference following a bilateral meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday, Lula’s words were clear: “South America must be convinced that we have to work as if it were a bloc. No one can imagine that one country in South America alone will solve its serious problems, which have lasted for more than 500 years.”
In response to a question from a reporter from the Venezuelan state press, Lula added that he and Mr. Maduro would “try to show [their] fellow presidents” what Unasur used to be. “They don’t necessarily have to follow the same thing, they can propose something else,” Lula said.
Unasur was created in 2008, thanks in large part to Lula’s foreign policy. At the time, South America was experiencing the so-called “Pink Tide,” when left-of-center parties gained a dominant political role in most of the region.
Unasur was...
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