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Brazil To Propose Forming South American Military Group

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
November 17, 2006 5:51 p.m.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)--Brazil is planning to ask South American nations next year to join their military forces to protect the region and its natural riches from outside threats, Army Col. Oswaldo Oliva Neto told the government news agency.

The project is one of 50 the government's Strategic Affairs Center is working on to turn Brazil into a developed country by 2022, Oliva, the center's secretary-general, told Agencia Brasil this week.

The program will be modeled on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a 26-nation alliance created during the Cold War to counter the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, Oliva said. The idea is to unite the continent militarily to defend its large oil deposits, fresh water and rich biodiversity that other countries might covet, he said.

"When these problems outside South America begin to create international stress, eyes turn to this region," Oliva said.

Cooperation would also make regional defense cheaper and more effective and create a greater market for weapons, Oliva said.

He said the proposal is expected to be presented next year to countries in the Southern Cone - Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay - and those belonging to the Andean Pact - Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

But Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will have to work to overcome regional differences and rivalries for the project to work.

"The political leadership of Brazil's president is vital," Oliva said.

The project was discussed at a meeting this week between Brazil and the E.U. on their long-term policy and strategy, Oliva said.

Also topping the list of the 50 proposals are the universal spread of education, the reduction of violence and crime, greater social equality and more jobs.

"Brazil can't afford to take on all 50 projects simultaneously," Oliva said. "So we set priorities ... so we can become, in 2022, a fully developed nation."

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