QUITO,- Ecuador's five representatives to the Andean Parliament, the decision-making body for the Community of Andean Nations (CAN) composed of Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador, were sworn in Sunday by Ecuador's National Assembly.Three of the representatives, all of which were elected in Feb. 17 general elections, belong to the ruling socialist party, the PAIS Alliance.
The representatives took the oath of office at a ceremony at the Legislative Palace in Ecuador's capital Quito. They are due to formally take office Monday.
President of the National Assembly Gabriela Rivadeneira, of the ruling party, presided over the swearing in. "It is so important to ratify today our commitment to Latin American and regional integration through the Andean Parliaments," said Rivadeneira. The Andean Parliament cannot legislate, but it promotes regional integration by providing advice and opinions to member states of the Andean bloc, which represents some 120 million people.
Andean Parliament representative Pedro de la Cruz, also of the ruling party, warned that the regional grouping "is about to collapse," and added "it is necessary to urgently rescue and deepen unity" in the region.
He recommended strengthening other regional blocs, such as the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), the Common Southern Market (Mercosur) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
"We have decided to propose that Venezuela return to the Andean Parliament and to the Andean Community, because only unity can make us strong," said De la Cruz.
Venezuela was a full member of the CAN until 2006, when it left the group to protest the free-trade agreements that Peru and Colombia signed with the United States.
The CAN aims to promote balanced and independent economic and political development through regional integration.
Based in Bogota, Colombia, the CAN was founded in 1979 in La Paz, Bolivia, and came into effect in 1984.
