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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/11/AR2011011101109.html
Ties Make Palestinian State a South American Priority
(AP-Washington Post) Eva Vergara and Carla Salazar - Five South American nations have recognized Palestinian statehood in recent weeks, and several more are expected to do so soon. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera decided to recognize Palestinian statehood on Friday, but was studiously neutral on the question of borders. Recognizing pre-1967 borders for a Palestinian state could undermine Chile's own refusal to cede territory it won from Peru and Bolivia in 1879. Argentina, meanwhile, sees itself as the victim of an illegal land seizure - Britain's control of the Falkland Islands, which Argentina still claims. Cultural ties also are key. Brazil and Paraguay have sizable Lebanese populations, Syrians are prominent in Argentina, and Chile's Palestinian community, some 400,000 strong, is among the largest outside the Middle East.