At the official opening of the MERCOSUR 47th summit, Argentina’s president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner formally transfered the bloc’s pro tempore presidency to her Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff and Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman took a stock of the situation after Argentinean presidency.
“Despite the difficulties we have had, we have showed that it is impossible to integrate to the world if we are not previously integrated within the region,” Ms. Kirchner said.
The head of state pointed out that political sectors in each of the member countries have attacked the governments for backing the MERCOSUR saying “it is an obstacle towards a global integration.” She said that on the contrary, “in the past years there has been the greatest level of openness.”
Timerman in his turn highlighted the “intense work” made by Argentina in the past semestre and assured that the country has “worked to ensure the bloc’s institutional health.”
He explained that the MERCOSUR seeks a “deep integration founded on solidarity and sustained by common efforts” and praised the achievements made during Argentina’s presidency, including the creation of the MERCOSUR car license plates and the bloc’s temporary travel identity card, which he hoped was approved soon during Brazil’s presidency.
Support against vulture funds
Both Timerman and Kirchner thanked the MERCOSUR countries for backing Buenos Aires in the battle against its holdout creditors, the so called vulture funds, and for the support to its proposal for the establishment of a sovereign debt restructuring legal framework approved by the UN’s General Assembly by 124 votes against 11.
“The vultures are plucked,” Ms. Kirchner said. “This is turning from a tragedy to a tragicomedy,” she added, explaining that “the rest of the world is only defending itself from the attack of these speculators, true vultures.”
Source: Buenos Aires Herald