March 27, 2006
Chávez proposes the Southern Bank for financial integration

(Aporrea) - "The proposal of the Southern Bank looks like a transcendental step in the integration process that will provide financial independence and support development in South America and the Caribbean.

Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez, presented the central banks of the region with a project for a multinational entity that he qualified as the key element in the fight for independence.

During a seminar on financial integration, Chávez considered that this bank could lead that process, together with the energy sector.

The Venezuelan proposal is based on a relentless logic of using adequate resources to solve financial problems, instead of going to other international organisations for help and accepting burdening conditions (...)

Chávez's idea also includes the possibility of incorporating resources from other countries in the region, like the members of OPEC (...)".