Latin American leaders address Andean summit

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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1. Bolivian President Carlos Mesa, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Peruvian Foreign Minister, Manuel Rodriguez arriving at CAN's convention 2. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe arrival 3. Ecuadorian President reading manuscript 4. Closeup of Hugo Chavez 5. Closeup of Carlos Mesa 6. Wide shot of convention 7. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Carlos Mesa, President of Bolivia "The fundamental changes to our agenda focus on integration. Sometimes this tends to focus on commercial ties - this is seen in a narrow-minded way as our only way of integrating. We need to talk about development for this to have a direct effect on the societies we represent. If we are not able to face the integration process through a path in which our societies and its living conditions improve in the areas of social inclusion and the fight against poverty, we would not have fully understand the fundamental meaning of this integration." 8. Mid shot Hugo Chavez and Manuel Rodriguez 9. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Alvaro Uribe, Colombian President "At this precise moment, and in the years to come, democratic governability relies on our capacity to set up fair business treaties that would demonstrate to our societies that integration is not capricious, that integration is not done to open the doors to transnational corporations. Integration has a purpose - social equality." 10. Meeting 11. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President "Neoliberalism disintegrates - it does not integrate. We seem to insist that the key formula is neoliberalism, the free market, free commerce. But we don't speak about free men and women, we speak about free markets. We continue to put commercial treaties and the search of new markets above people. Yes this is necessary, but it is not enough." 12. Wide of Chavez at podium 13. Wide of convention STORYLINE: The 15th Andean Summit (CAN) opened in Quito, Ecuador on Monday, aiming to set the guidelines for its member countries in their negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States and the South American block Mercosur, as well as possible future agreements with Central America and the European community. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez rejected plans by his Andean peers to seek a free trade agreement with the United States. Chavez rejected the agreement that Peru, Ecuador and Colombia are negotiating with the United States as "an imperial proposal that seeks to dominate us for 100 years." "Neoliberalism disintegrates it does not integrate" Chavez said to his counterparts. The Venezuelan leader was in Ecuador for a one-day meeting of presidents from the Andean Community to discuss a long-running goal of lowering trade barriers among member nations Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. South American supporters of a U.S. free trade agreement see it as a way to generate income and boost their economies by gaining access to U.S. markets for manufactured goods and agricultural products. With the exception of Colombia's Alvaro Uribe, who enjoys strong support for his success in fighting guerrillas to end four decades of civil strife, the remaining presidents are a virtual who's who of troubled leaders. Ecuador's Lucio Gutierrez has alienated his indigenous supporters since taking office in January 2003. Peru's Alejandro Toledo is the most unpopular president in the region, despite having one of the strongest economies in Latin America. Communist-led labour unions oppose his free-market policies and have called a nationwide strike for Wednesday. Bolivia's Carlos Mesa faces his greatest challenge on Sunday when voters decide whether to sell off the country's natural gas. But for the time being, unity was on tap at Monday's Andean summit. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/232f313497cfee99f8b802051872fde8 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork