South American presidents agreed Sept. 15 to work urgently to prevent a political collapse in Bolivia, where the government said it would charge a rebellious governor with genocide for allegedly ordering the machine-gunning of peasants.

Bolivian President Evo Morales speaks upon arrival at Santiago's airport Sept. 15. AP PHOTO

Condemning two weeks of unrest in which Bolivia's leftist president, Evo Morales, effectively lost control of half his country, the leaders demanded protesters immediately vacate seized government offices, and "halt violence and intimidation."

They accepted Morales' claim that a massacre occurred in the breakaway state of Pando, offering to investigate, and agreeing as well to create a commission to try to spur dialogue between Bolivia's government and opposition.

"UNASUR's ability to respond very rapidly to the first situation of this sort and to be capable of building an accord should be recognized," Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, who hosted the six-hour meeting held behind closed doors, told reporters afterward.

The 12-nation Union of South American Nations was only founded in May, and the Bolivian crisis, in which anti-Morales protesters have blocked highways, closed border crossings and sabotaged natural gas pipelines, is its first major test. Only the presidents of Peru, Suriname and Guyana did not attend.

Most of the leaders departed without comment, but Morales, who called the unrest an attempted coup, said he was "surprised by the solidarity" of his colleagues and called it "the first time in history that we South Americans are deciding to solve the problems of South America."