Lula goes to Colombia for continental integration.

247 - The Pacific Alliance, formed just over a year ago by Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Mexico, announced a round of tariff reductions among its members last week. According to the President's international advisor, Marco Aurélio Garcia, this move "doesn't keep the Brazilian government awake at night," but the bloc's first practical measures have led to analyses of a possible division of the continent through polarization with Mercosur. Coincidence or not, former President Lula, who has spent the last few months engaging with regional leaders such as Nicolás Maduro and Cristina Kirchner, will be in Colombia, where the last Pacific Alliance summit took place, to speak precisely about "Latin American integration." He will also visit Peru and Ecuador. In all three countries, Lula has scheduled meetings with the presidents.

In a tone of détente, Maduro indicated this Thursday that he has lost confidence in the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, due to suspicions of interference in Venezuelan internal affairs. The two countries share a long border. According to Maduro, the Colombian oligarchy has joined forces with the Venezuelan right to promote "conspiracy" and "sabotage the economy" of the country. "You [Juan Manuel Santos] don't interfere in my country, and I won't interfere in yours. It's that simple. You respect the politics of my country and I respect yours," he stressed. "There are Bolivarian supporters here, don't forget that we are children of [Simón] Bolívar [the liberator of the Americas] and [Hugo] Chávez. Don't get involved with us. Respect us so that we can respect you," he concluded.

See the schedule for the former Brazilian president, released this Friday by the Lula Institute:

Lula Institute - Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva departs this Monday (3) for Colombia, the first stage of a five-day trip through the Andean region, in which he will also visit Peru and Ecuador. Lula will meet with heads of state, discuss social programs in Colombia, and receive honorary doctorate degrees from the National University of San Marcos, in Peru, and from three institutions in Ecuador.

In Colombia, Lula will meet with President Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday morning (4), and will see a presentation of the Colombian social programs "Famílias en acción" and "Mujer Ahorradora". The former president will also give a lecture to businessmen from the Brazil-Colombia Chamber of Commerce on the integration of Latin America.

On Tuesday night, already in Lima, Lula will meet with the President of Peru, Ollanta Humala.

The following day, Wednesday (5), Lula will give a lecture to the Brazil-Peru Chamber of Commerce on the 10 years of the Strategic Alliance between the two countries, signed by him with the then Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo, in 2003. During this period the Transoceanic highway was completed, which links Brazil to the Peruvian coast, offering an alternative for transporting Brazilian products to the Pacific and boosting integration between the two countries.

In the afternoon, Lula will receive an honorary doctorate from the National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, founded in 1551.

On Thursday (6), in Quito, Ecuador, Lula meets with President Rafael Correa and receives the National Order of San Lorenzo Decoration.

On Friday morning (7), Lula will give a lecture to the Ecuadorian-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and in the afternoon he will receive honorary doctorate titles granted by three Ecuadorian institutions: the International University of Ecuador, the Simon Bolívar Andean University and the Polytechnic School of Guayaquil.

Lula returns to São Bernardo do Campo on Friday.