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Trump to be unwitting "unifying factor" for LatAm: UNASUR chief

Xinhua, January 21, 2017 Adjust font size:

U.S. President Donald Trump could inadvertently serve as a "unifying factor" for Latin America, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) Secretary-General Ernesto Samper said Friday.

In general, Trump's protectionist and isolationist policies are not viewed as being a good thing for the region, but Samper said adversity can bring Latin America's disparate countries together.

In an interview with Venezuelan news network Globovision, on the same day Trump was sworn in as the president of the United States, Samper said he wasn't "so pessimistic" about the new leader, since "he is going to be a great factor in unifying Latin America."

Trump's proposed measures are bound to affect Latin America, said Samper, especially those on clamping down on illegal migration and raising tariffs on goods imported into the United States.

"All of them (the proposals) have to do with us, whether it's kicking out Latinos, meaning us, or whether it's blocking Latin American exports," said Samper.

Both progressive and neo-liberal governments in Latin America stand to suffer from the changes in U.S. policies, including "free-trade agreements that this man is going to set back," said Samper, adding "I think now we are all going to be in the same boat." Endi