Peru and Bolivia put economicinterests above ideological differences.
| Autor | Gaudin, Andres |
The leaders of Bolivia and Peru have made a habit, since 2015, of doing something that is commonplace in Europe but not standard diplomatic practice in the Americas: holding periodic, bilateral meetings to discuss matters of mutual interest.
In late August, in Lima, the two nations held their third rounds of talks, and while the agenda was ample, the centerpiece of their conversations was, once again, the construction of a railroad line that would crisscross Bolivia and link South America's two oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific.
For Bolivia, a landlocked country that's had dismal relations with Chile since losing its coastline in the cruel War of the Pacific (1879-1883), the project is like oxygen (NotiSur, Aug. 5, 2016). When the social democrat Michelle Bachelet returned to power in Chile in 2014, analysts imagined that, due to her political leanings, a deal would perhaps be worked out to provide Bolivia ocean access.
Not only did that fail to transpire, but relations between the two countries actually worsened-to the point that the matter is now being handled by the International Court of Justice in The Hague (NotiSur, July 28, 2017).
Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and his Bolivian counterpart, Evo Morales, have no ideological affinity, but they are proving they can work together, particularly with regards to integration. The two leaders agreed, for example, to further facilitate the access Bolivia has had since 1992--and henceforth for 99 years--to the Peruvian port of Ilo, located approximately 1,200 km. south of Lima. Specifically, they decided to allow Bolivia to help run the terminal, invest in a major expansion of the port, and set up its own customs and port administration offices.
The leaders also agreed on plans to encourage the development of small and medium-sized companies, cooperate in the fight against copyright infringement, and have Peru connect Bolivia to a fiber-optic network that will make Internet services in the landlocked country faster and significantly less expensive.
But the highlight of the talks was a resolution to get the ocean-to-ocean railroad project up and running by 2025, when Bolivia celebrates the 200th anniversary of its independence from Spain. And while the final trajectory of the route won't be settled until early next year, it has been determined that the rail line will start in the Atlantic Port of Santos, in Brazil, enter Bolivia in Puerto Suarez (just a few kilometers from Cerro Mutun...
Para continuar leyendo
Solicita tu pruebaCOPYRIGHT GALE, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
