MERCOSUR lives a moment of irrelevance, ALADI secretary general says

Montevideo, Jan 9 (Prensa Latina) The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) is currently experiencing a moment of irrelevance, Uruguayan Sergio Abreu, secretary general of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), said in this capital.

January 9, 2023
10:40

The former member of the MERCOSUR Council argued that this association (comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay) has no agreement with any bloc or foreign power, unlike other countries in the region.

Internally, the bloc needs to be brought into line. For example, with the external tariff that is charged twice or is perforated, an issue that isn’t certain yet, Abreu pointed out.

In this regard, he said in an interview with El País that Brazil should take a leading role in making MERCOSUR a different organization in which tariffs are no longer the main element of protection.

Brazil, with a market of 215 million people, and Argentina, with 49 million, will have to look at this reality with a strategic and geopolitical vision, the ALADI secretary general added.

Sergio Abreu attended the swearing in of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasilia on January 1, 2023.

He said Lula would give impetus to the regional issue with ALADI, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).

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