“I decided to reintegrate the country into UNASUR by ratifying the treaty approved by Congress through law and I requested that it be called the Association of South American Nations to guarantee pluralism and permanence over time,” Petro wrote on his Twitter profile.

Petro made the announcement in the context of the summit of South American presidents held in Brazil at the initiative of leader Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, who asked to give life to the bloc in order to advance the integration of countries without having to start from scratch.

UNASUR was founded back in 2008 with the signing of the Constitutive Treaty, which entered into force in 2011 with the aim of building a South American identity and citizenship and developing an integrated regional space.

In April 2018, the leaders of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay and Peru decided to suspend their participation in the organization as they were contrary to the integration process in the region.

Several rulers supported the initiative to revitalize the bloc at the Brazil summit.

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