Until a few days ago, the meeting of Mercosur heads of state was seen as a starting point for reconciliation. Now, it seems that the meeting of heads of state of Mercosur is turning out to be the climax of discord.
Leaders of the member and associate countries of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) — made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay — will meet on Monday in Asunción with an eye on regional integration. However, reaching consensus seems increasingly distant, while the rift between its members is growing, especially between the presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Argentina, Javier Milei.
At the last minute, Milei decided to withdraw from the meeting and, instead of traveling to the Paraguayan capital for the summit, opted to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Brazil, a meeting point for the Latin American far right, which is also attended by former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, former Chilean presidential candidate José Antonio Kast and Mexican actor Eduardo Verásategui.
Milei’s absence has The discontent with neighbouring Brazil has worsenedwhere the government and diplomacy do not fully understand the decision of the Argentine president, the first to reject an invitation to Mercosur since Fernando de la Rúa cancelled his trip to Montevideo in 2001, following the social and economic upheaval that took hold in Argentina at that time and which culminated in his resignation from office.
The relationship between Milei and Lula, with a large ideological gap between them, became extremely tense last week after the Argentine leader called his Brazilian counterpart “corrupt and communist” in statements for which Lula He demanded an apology from him. The height of a tension that has been dragging on for several months.
Milei will send her foreign minister, Diana Mondino, to cover her absence at Mercosur, which will be attended by the presidents of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou; of Bolivia, Luis Arce; of Panama, José Raúl Mulino; who just took office on July 1 and is attending as a guest, Lula and the host Santiago Peña.
But Milei’s criticism was not limited to the president of the Latin American giant, its main trading partner, and extended to other countries in the region. The Argentine president has been involved in verbal clashes with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Colombian leader Gustavo Petro, Mexican leader Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Chilean leader Gabriel Boric.
In the most recent episode, shot Arce following the failed coup d’état in Bolivia on June 26, which Milei described as a “fraud” and a “self-coup” and provoked an immediate reaction from the Bolivian government for its interference.
Bolivia could be the center of attention in Asunción. It will be Arce’s first meeting with his regional counterparts after the military coup, when the Military took over the presidential headquarters in La Paz under the orders of the dismissed Army commander, Juan José Zúñiga.
This also occurs three days after the law was promulgated last Friday granting Bolivia full membership in Mercosur, in which it had already participated as an associate state since 1997.
Almost a decade after beginning the process of joining the South American bloc in 2015, the Bolivian president finally will be delivered to the top of Mercosur on Monday the law by which Bolivia ratified its full adherence to the organization, created in 1991.
The entry of the Andean country could provide a new boost to the bloc, which will also have to debate thorny issues on Monday, such as the stalled Mercosur agreement with the European Union (EU) or the differences between members regarding free trade agreements with countries or blocs without the need for unanimity among their partners.
This proposal, widely supported by Argentina, is also supported by Uruguay, whose president has insisted with his peers on the need to strengthen trade ties with major players on the global stage, such as China or the Oceania bloc.
But the initiative faces strong resistance from heavyweights such as Lula’s Brazil, the world’s eighth-largest economy. The Brazilian leader is a staunch defender of the idea that decisions within the bloc are made by absolute consensus of its members.
Rather than calming the mood, everything points to the fact that the summit of Mercosur heads of state will be another showdown between its partners. The host president himself admitted that the bloc is not going through its “best moment” and hopes that the meeting in the Paraguayan capital will be an opportunity to “reflect.”
“Despite all the comings and goings, the advances and setbacks that have taken place, I believe in the integration model, Mercosur is our best platform, since the world moves based on economic blocks,” said Peña in anticipation of the meeting.
“I hope that this summit we are going to hold on Monday will be an opportunity to reflect, at a time when Mercosur is clearly not going through its best moment,” he stressed.
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