MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mercosur “top priority”

Brazilian president Fernando Cardoso confirmed in Europe that Mercosur is "a top priority policy for Brazilian foreign affairs", in spite of Argentina's Finance Minister accusations that Brazil is not honouring the group's rules. Last week during a meeting of Argentine and Brazilian delegates in Buenos Aires to find ways of mitigating the impact on Mercosur intra trade of the weak Brazilian currency, Mr. Cavallo publicly blamed his visitors for intentionally manipulating the "Real". After what was considered an unnecessary offence the Brazilian delegation simply walked out of the talks which remain suspended. Argentina mainly, and Uruguay with less aggressiveness, complain bitterly that the permanent erosion of the Brazilian currency (almost 50% so far) has turned bilateral trade into a one way current. Uruguay and particularly Argentina with a fixed exchange rate to the US dollar simply cannot compete and much less sell to Brazil. Brazil who occasionally bolsters its currency, argues that a flexible exchange rate means the price of the US dollar varies, but anyhow lately expressed its willingness to discuss some kind of compensation to Mercosur partners for the possible loss of competitiveness and trade. However Mr. Cavallo's public mercurial reaction once again aborted the talks. In Buenos Aires president Fernando De la Rúa Mr. Cardoso's statement by stressing that "Mercosur is a state policy" for Argentina and "we will continue in that line".

Uruguay optimistic about tourism

Uruguay looks forward to the 2001/2002 summer season with optimism and expects tourists to spend 700 million US dollars. During the official launching of this season, Uruguayan Tourism Minister, Alfonso Varela said that "after the September attacks, tourist are more inclined to look for short distance locations, and this possibly means more Argentines and Brazilians will target Uruguay instead of the Caribbean and United States". Mr. Varela added that if Uruguay manages to extend the season a few weeks, "we can attract an additional 100,000 tourists, particularly if we're predictable regarding adequate prices". Over a million tourists visit Uruguay annually, mostly from Argentina, Braz