We present velocity solutions for 16 continuous GPS (CGPS) stations located in South America in a geodetic reference frame that nominally fixes the craton or stable core of this continent. The RMS horizontal velocity of 8 stations located within the craton is 1.3 mm/yr. Three CGPS stations located in Chile between about 33 ¿S and 20 ¿S have velocities in the range 19--24 mm/yr. These motions manifest current rates of convergence across the southern limb of the Central Andes. The IGS station in Arequipa, Peru (at 16.5 ¿S) in the northern limb of the orocline, however, has a velocity of just 10 mm/yr. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union