August 11, 2007 (LPAC)--Making clear why international synarchist financiers view him as such a threat, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner outlined on Aug. 10 his conception of how the soon-to-be-founded Bank of the South can function to "return the smile of hope to the forgotten and dispossessed" of South America. In language reminiscent of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Kirchner explained that the Bank of the South, which he said is expected to begin operations in November following many "bureaucratic" delays, will finance productive investments in infrastructure, "not unproductive public expenditures or the bureaucratic inefficiency of states."

Speaking in Tarija, Bolivia before a group that included Bolivian President Evo Morales and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Kirchner pointed out that "neoliberal economists always try to confuse public expenditures with investment in infrastructure." But, he added, "we believe that financing public investment means financing development, infrastructure, and the possibility of building a nation and a people." And, he continued, "when we build services, when we invest in gas pipelines, schools, hospitals, and housing for our people, that's not just public expenditures. It is dignifying our people, ensuring they have the level and quality of life they deserve. This is the difference we have with neoliberalism."

The path of physical integration is a difficult one, Kirchner underscored, noting that often the continent's leaders have failed their people, falling into "individualism or the petty struggles for short-term leadership, preventing us from taking the transcendent steps we must take...We must listen to the mandate of our people; we must realize how much our societies have suffered..." and rise to the occasion.

Financier interests tied to the British monarchy-controlled Banco Santander have been instrumental in delaying the Bank of the South's founding, originally scheduled for last June. But Kirchner said that now is the time for all the nations of Ibero-America--"and why not Mexico, too?"--to join forces to create the Bank of the South. "We want Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and everyone to come and work for the Bank of the South, which will be an independent instrument."