MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Can Chavez & Castro push Mercosur leftward?

Can Chavez & Castro push Mercosur leftward? President Hugo Chavez makes Venezuela's debut as a member of the Mercosur trade bloc at a two-day summit in Cordoba which drew a rare appearance abroad by Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Venezuela formally became the fifth full member of South America's biggest trade group this month, as the bloc grapples with heated disputes among some member countries.

A self-described leftist revolutionary flush with crude oil revenue and a close ally to Castro, Chavez has a combative relationship with the US government that contrasts with other Mercosur leaders whose ties range from cordial to friendly.

Chavez has promoted Mercosur as an alliance to counter US-backed free-trade deals. Castro arrived in Cordoba yesterday to sign Cuba's biggest trade agreement with the bloc.

Venezuela's inclusion could increase tensions in a group struggling to find common economic ground.

Full Mercosur members include Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Bolivia and Chile are associate members.

"We'll have to see if in fact these countries will speak the same language or if each one will try to play its own game", said Norberto Consani, an international relations expert at Argentina's Universidad Nacional de la Plata.

Argentina and Chile have clashed recently over energy supplies. Bolivia and Brazil have struggled to resolve differences over natural gas prices. Argentina and Uruguay have also been embroiled in a dispute over the construction of two pulp mills along a river shared by the two countries.

Castro last night joined the Mercosur leaders in the central city of Cordoba, some 700 kilometres northwest of Buenos Aires.

Today, the presidents are expected to sign a trade agreement with Cuba reducing and eliminating tariffs on a host of Mercosur exports to the Communist-ruled island.

An appearance by Castro could be seen as an attempt to push Mercosur further left, but moderates like Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Uruguay's Tabare Vazquez and even Brazil's Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva may resist, as could Paraguay's centre-right leader Nicanor Duarte Frutos.

"I don't know if Fidel's presence would be viewed so well by other presidents, maybe by Chavez and (Bolivia's leftist) Evo Morales, but I'm not sure about the rest," Consani said.

Chavez, Morales and Castro are expected to lead a rally by university students and political activists after the Mercosur summit ends today.

Argentine officials insist Mercosur is a trade organization that transcends ideological differences and bilateral conflicts

"Integration is not ideological," said Carlos "Chacho" Alvarez, president of the commission of permanent representatives to Mercosur and a former vice-president of Argentina.

Trade among the bloc's members nearly doubled between 2002 and 2005 to 39 billion dollars, but is still just shy of 1998 levels. Alejandro Mayoral, an international trade analyst, said many Mercosur nations compete rather than complement one another, particularly over commodities. But friendly relations between South America's leaders do not necessarily ensure success in meshing economies.

"It is very important to unite and project an image of unity, but this unity should be real and not just spoken," Consani said. "Many times the discourse goes one way and government practice goes another." (Agencies)