Spensy Pimentel
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Caracas (Venezuela) - Ex-minister and former federal deputy, José Dirceu, whose legislative mandate was revoked last year by the Congress but who remains affiliated with the Workers' Party (PT), is participating in a debate today (26) on Latin American and South American integration at the 6th World Social Forum.

Dirceu, who was invited by the Values Institute to take part in the event, shared his opinion on this topic with Brazilian journalists prior to the debate. In his view, the current political setting on the continent offers a unique opportunity for the integration process. "There has never been a circumstance in which South American presidents shared greater affinity," he commented.

The ex-minister deems that this state of affairs is clearly related to president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's election in 2002.

Among the current integration projects that Dirceu considers most important are the formation of the Mercosur Parliament and the creation of financial instruments for the construction of infrastructure, such as highways, railroads, and bridges. Energy integration through projects in the areas of gas, electricity, and petroleum is another item that Dirceu sees as fundamental.

For the ex-minister, the integration process will survive poltical changes. "It resisted in Europe, and it will resist here. I cannot imagine why the Brazilian business class and multinational corporations would be opposed."

Regarding future projects that are important for integration, Dirceu says that there is need for "audacity" to establish a common currency, and he notes the recently formulated proposal, at a meeting between Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela, for the creation of a South American Defense Council.

Translation: David Silberstein