RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Jair Bolsonaro no longer says he wants Brazil to withdraw from Mercosur. In a speech read during the bloc’s summit conference, which this year was held virtually due to the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic, he stated that the agreements that since the 1990s have united his country with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay are “the best vehicle” for Brazil’s international positioning.
Bolsonaro did not wander off script nor did he polemicize with Argentinian President Alberto Fernández, with whom he has not spoken since his neighbor country’s representative took office on December 10th. The screens helped them keep their distance.
The meeting put an end to Paraguay’s pro-tempore presidency, which is now held by Uruguay for the next six months. President Luis Lacalle Pou pledged to expedite the ratification of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union and to promote negotiations with third countries, a point with which Argentina disagrees. Negotiations are already underway with South Korea, Singapore, Canada, and Lebanon. Bolsonaro said he wants to expand the list to “other Asian countries” and to Central American countries.
The Brazilian President also emphasized Paraguay’s support for the plan to reduce the Common External Tariff (TEC), which regulates the entry of goods from third countries. “The TEC reform is indispensable to consolidate Mercosur as a source of prosperity for our peoples,” said Bolsonaro. This is the point that most annoys Argentina, which demands a cautious opening that protects local industries.
Months ago, Alberto Fernández’s government warned that it would withdraw from these negotiations because he felt that the conditions were not right to open trade. He used as an excuse the economic catastrophe caused by the pandemic and the subsequent need to rebuild the economy. Later, the Argentinian president retreated and asked to maintain negotiations “at two speeds” to protect the most vulnerable Mercosur member countries.
On Thursday, Fernández did not name Brazil, much less Bolsonaro, but made it clear that Argentina’s intention was to join the world under the umbrella of Mercosur. “This will be a better way than if each of us seeks our own individual fortune,” he said. The bloc’s rules prevent members from negotiating with third countries without each other’s agreement.
The previous day, during the Foreign Affairs Ministers’ meeting, Argentinian Felipe Solá announced that it was not on Argentina’s agenda to fight with Brazil. “Unity becomes a necessary issue in Mercosur at the moment. To integrate does not necessarily mean to see the world the same way. We have differences and governments that change, but what remains is Mercosur as a state policy,” he said.
Although Fernández and Bolsonaro do not speak, the foreign ministries of both countries have never interrupted their dialogue.
Undoing distorted opinions about Brazil
In his speech, Bolsonaro did not name Fernández, and he used his time to stand up for his government against what he considered unfounded external attacks. “Our Government,” he said, “will continue the dialogue with different parties to undo distorted opinions about Brazil and expose the actions we have implemented to protect the Amazon and the well-being of the indigenous population,” in an effort to pursue negotiations on the agreement with the European Union.
The government’s failure to fight deforestation in the Amazon has led to criticism from European countries, such as France, and to doubts about finalizing the agreement with the Europeans.
The Brazilian president is concerned about his image. Reports that point to record levels of deforestation in the Amazon region and the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic among indigenous populations, add to a chaotic management of the health crisis. In his speech, Bolsonaro said he intends to reconcile the protection of people’s health and the imperative of economic recovery.
To do so, he will seek the support of Mercosur. “The coming months will see great challenges for all of us. The greatest of them, which presents itself right at the outset, is to reconcile the protection of people’s health with the imperative to recover the economy, I am sure that Mercosur is part of the solutions we are building.”
The presidents’ summit was particularly atypical. The virtual format limited the interventions to either readings or more or less improvised speeches, as a result lacking the emotions and arguments seen in past meetings. In addition to Fernández, Bolsonaro and Lacalle Pou spoke with Paraguayan Mario Abdo Benítez, who hosted the summit. Chilean Sebastian Piñera, Colombian Iván Duque and Bolivian Jeanine Áñez participated as representatives of guest members not a part of Mercosur.
Source: El País