Medellin, November 13 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Former Uruguayan President Jose “Pepe” Mujica told teleSUR that “we need true political will” to achieve full integration in Latin America to allow the continent to fully develop.     

The former president, a well-known spokesperson for progressive policies and Latin American integration, issued the call on Thursday from Medellin, Colombia, where he is participating in the Latin American Council of Social Sciences, known as Clacso. 

“We will not develop if we do not integrate ... Why will we not develop?  Because we arrived late, because we are in the era of knowledge, because they have the advantage over us,” said the former president, referring to the political and economic advantages of developed nations.

However, the former president added he does not think that integration is an inevitably fatal phenomenon.  On the contrary, he said, it is a phenomenon that will depend on political will.

He also criticized Latin American governments that tend to be patriotic and not integrate, even though they also want to eliminate the dependence from the North.  

“Saying no to the FTAA is not equivalent to saying yes to integration,” said Mujica referring to the controversial Free Trade Area of the Americas deal with the United States that was rejected by Latin American nations ten years ago.  “Our attitude was manifested against [the deal], but we are very reluctant when it comes to building something.” 

He also noted that true integration cannot be achieved if all the resources and intelligence to do so are not used, or are used to promote patriotic policies. 

“Patriotism has political advantage because that is what the masses understand,” added Mujica. 

“We must try to manage, not to back down but fight to diversify ourselves a little more,” said Mujica, who said that only 20 percent of the companies in this region maintain trade with each other while “the other 80 percent goes [over seas].” 

He also added that integration cannot be created out of fear, citing the case of the European Union, which was initially created out of fear of the United States and the Soviet Union. 

Mujica added that Latin America's regional integration has been delayed from an economic point of view. Despite its progress, the continent still has a huge social debt because of “huge fiscal weakness while the capacity to raise [finances] is very poor when compared to other parts of the world.”

This is a major factor that reduces the resources that governments are able to allocated in order to ensure good social policies.

Despite this, explained the former president, the region has managed to fight extreme poverty. 

While in one of Colombia's biggest cities, Mujica took the time to mention the peace talks that have been ongoing between the government of Colombia and the FARC guerrillas in Cuba for the last three years.  The two sides have been trying to put an end to over 50 years of fighting, what has taken the lives of over 220,000 people and displaced or disappeared millions.

The former Uruguayan president said the peace process is very important for the history of Colombia, while expressing his hope that Latin America finally celebrate peace in the country.

He added that the president of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos “has shown a maturity that we thought did not exist, I am the first to honestly admit this,” said Mujica.

Mujica said he believes that “the war has two types of solution, when the opponent disappears and the other when there is a negotiation.” 

The FARC and the government have made some landmark deals during the talks, while both sides are feeling the pressure to reach a final agreement within the next six months.