Lula promises Arce to intercede for Bolivia’s entry into Mercosur

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met Monday with Bolivian President Luis Arce and told him that, if elected, he intends to work so that the Brazilian Congress approves his neighbor’s entry into Mercosur.

Information about the meeting was provided by former Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, who acts as one of the advisers to the former Brazilian president, who leads the polls for the October elections in Brazil and witnessed part of the conversation that took place on Monday in São Paulo.

“The president has promised, if elected, to speed up Bolivia’s integration into Mercosur, which is very important, including for international relations, relations with Europe, relations with China,” Amorim told reporters after the meeting. .

“Obviously Congress is sovereign, but I think there will be an effort. I have no doubt that there will be that effort (of a possible Lula government), because it is very important for Bolivia and for us too, because Bolivia in Mercosur will also facilitate contact with the entire Andean Community as a whole,” he added.

Bolivia’s entry into Mercosur depends solely on a decision by the Brazilian Congress, since the parliaments of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay approved the request.

Amorim said that Lula and Arce did not discuss, at least during the part of the meeting that he witnessed, Bolivia’s internal politics. Arce recently accused the opposition of seeking to orchestrate a coup against his government.

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