Mercosur “too small” for Brazil, claims Sao Paulo federation of industries

Thursday, June 24th 2010 - 02:08 UTC

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One of Brazil’s most influential lobbies, the Sao Paulo Federation of Industries, FIESP, claims that Mercosur is an economic space “too small” given the development and “growing international presence of Brazil”. Read full article

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harrier61
What Brazil needs to do is to rise above its South American and join a mature democratic world community. Most important to distance itself from backward remnants like Argentina and Venezuela. May have to take a bit of stick for a while, but it'll be worth it to be working with grown-ups.
Jun 24th, 2010 - 06:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Forgetit87
Barbosa has ties with opposition presidential candidate Serra. He is using his influence within FIESP to give support for Serra's clumsy remarks on Mercosur in April 2010. Unless Brazil become an island, to dissociate from its neighbors, either comercially or politically, is just not an option. And even if it were, it wouldn't be a wise one. Even the US needs to maintain a close relationship with its smaller - much smaller - neighbors Mexico and Canada.

Most of the market for Brazil's industrial products are those furnished by Mercosur, specially Argentina. In the Brazilian perspective, Mercosur is also an useful tool for political bargain. That the bloc needs to be improved, no one denies. Even the EU needs to be improved, and the EU is 50 years old already (Mercosur is 16). The wise solution for Brazil is to streghthen its Mercosur partners economically and then to expand the bloc's market. Venezuela is a good option for such an expansion. Its population is not poor in Latin American standards, and its energy sector is a powerful one - one not even the US can ignore. Peru - with which Brazil has reached an energy agreement - and Bolivia are also potential partners of interest. A Brazilian historian, Moniz Bandeira, has even suggested South Africa as an interest choice for a Mercosur expansion.

I remember that in 2008 Barbosa complained Brazil's exports to the US had decreased in proportional (though not in absolute) terms from 20% to 14%. He complained about that, but given the economic crisis that has rocked mainly the developed economies - the US included -, to seek commercial partners outside of the developed world now seems to have been a very wise move. With that in mind, I wouldn't give Barbosa's words much consideration.
Jun 30th, 2010 - 07:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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