Alurralde was quick to spin Conde’s announcement that Bolivia would have access to its port facilities for tariff-free trade as support for Bolivia’s historic claim against Chile in relation to the War of the Pacific (1879-1883) when it lost its Pacific coast. (The government of President Evo Morales has yet to claim any success vis-à-vis its decision announced in March 2011 of taking Chile before international courts to fight Bolivia’s cause).
Both Alurralde and Conde also announced that Bolivia will begin negotiations next year to become a permanent member of Mercosur: Uruguay will assume the six-month pro-tempore presidency of Mercosur in January 2013. Along with Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, Bolivia is currently an associate member, which means it does not enjoy full voting rights or complete access to the markets of Mercosur’s full members (Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Paraguay - although the latter was suspended following the impeachment of Fernando Lugo [2008-2012] last June.) Conde said that Uruguay would offer all its support for Bolivia’s incorporation and, notably, help the country “not to lose any of the trade preferences it enjoys through other accords with third countries” – in line with Uruguay’s demands for greater flexibility given the protectionist trade barriers erected by Argentina.
One omission from the bilateral agenda however was Urupabol, the trilateral strategic association agreement between Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, conceived in the 1960s as a geopolitical counterweight to Argentina and Brazil. This has been revived and abandoned at various points – most recently in March 2010 with President José Mujica’s first official visit to Bolivia upon taking office [WR-10-11]. In August 2011, however, Bolivia’s then hydrocarbons & energy minister, José Luis Gutiérrez, announced that the gas pipeline project envisaged under the alliance had been “set aside” because it would not be profitable for Bolivia.
Following an April 2012 meeting in Asunción, ministers from all three countries reaffirmed their commitment to the project, insisting they were examining a feasibility study undertaken with funding from the Andean development corporation (CAF). After last week’s meeting, Alurralde and Conde alluded to another integration project previously discussed - efforts to develop the Hidrovía Paraguay-Paraná, the river system that links Bolivia to the River Plate estuary - which could allow for the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Tension with Paraguay
Bolivia’s shoring up of ties with Uruguay came amid renewed signs of strain with Paraguay. An easily tapped source of tension given the legacy of the Bolivia-Paraguay Chaco War (1932-1935), differences have become more pronounced following the impeachment of Lugo, an ideological ally of Morales: along with the rest of Latin America, Bolivia refuses to recognise the new administration led by President Federico Franco.
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