Brazil’s House of Representatives approved Bolivia’s entry into Mercosur with 323 votes in favor and 98 against.
Mercosur is a trade bloc that includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Before Bolivia can join, each member country’s parliament must approve the agreement.
Now, the Brazilian Senate will review the matter. Brazil was the last country in the bloc to vote on Bolivia’s membership.
Acting House President Marcos Pereira stressed the urgency of this approval. He noted a December deadline for the process.
Vinicius Carvalho, the rapporteur for the Foreign Affairs Committee, outlined the benefits in a 2018 report.
According to him, Bolivia’s entry will increase Mercosur’s population to 300 million and its GDP to $3.5 trillion.
He also highlighted Bolivia’s valuable natural resources like gas and lithium.
Bolivia and Brazil already have a trade relationship. In fact, Brazil is the main destination for Bolivia’s exports, primarily natural gas.
A pipeline connecting the two countries has been operational since 1999. This pipeline delivers gas to Brazil’s major economic centers.
As part of the joining process, Bolivia must adopt several Mercosur regulations. These include the bloc’s common nomenclature, external tariff, and origin regime.
Bolivia has up to four years from its entry date to fully comply with these terms.
To sum it up, Bolivia’s potential inclusion in Mercosur has cleared a significant hurdle with Brazil’s House vote.
If the Senate also agrees, Bolivia will officially become a member and align its policies over the next four years.
The move has been in the works since 2015, when Brazil’s then-President Dilma Rousseff initiated the process to ease Bolivia’s entry.