President Gabriel Boric formally suspended Chile’s participation in the Forum for the Progress of South America, Prosur, a regional dialogue body created by former President Sebastián Piñera together with other right-wing leaders. The departure from Chile is a serious blow to the survival of the organization, perhaps the main work of the former president in international politics.
In this way, the president, who is on an official visit to Argentina, has decided to strengthen other regional integration spaces, such as CELAC, the Pacific Alliance and Mercosur. Thus, President Boric comes to specifically express his rejection of an instance that, in his opinion, seemed to respond to “President Piñera’s own agenda”, as he stated at the end of December 2021, when he refused to accompany him to a tour of Colombia, a country that integrates Prosur.
In fact, one of the objectives of President Boric in his visit to Argentina is the strengthening of other multilateral spaces, such as those mentioned above. The strengthening of these institutions emerges as an imperative in view of certain problems that must be faced regionally, such as the migratory crisis and drug trafficking.
Prosur is an initiative promoted by former President Piñera in conjunction with the President of Colombia, Iván Duque. Its creation arose as a response to Unasur, a space that, in Piñera’s opinion, suffered severe decomposition due to its excess of “ideologism and bureaucracy.” This forum was open “to all South American countries that meet two requirements: full validity of the rule of law and full respect for freedoms and human rights,” according to former President Piñera on February 18, 2019.
