MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Mercosur “needs to be reborn” with an honest integration spirit, says Cardoso
Mercosur never really took off as an integration project argues the former president Brazilian former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso said that Mercosur “needs to be reborn but with a real integration spirit among its members” leaving behind such ambitions as the mirror of the European Union.
“Mercosur got stalled at the start and did not advance much, why? Simply because of an over-bloated initial ambition: they were thinking in the EU or something like it and we just managed to agree on barriers, a common external tariff, and that’s all” said Cardoso who ruled Brazil from 1995 to 2003.
“There was no effective integration of capitals, no occupation of the region’s territorial space with investments that could start in one country and continue into others, not even an attempt to create a regional social security fund that would enable labour to move freely”, regretted Cardoso.
Mercosur was launched in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay with the purpose of promoting the free circulation of goods and services among its members. Venezuela is in the process of incorporation while, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador are associates.
The former president who was one of the lecturers for the Century XXI Council in an event held in Mexico City regretted that Mercosur members with the passing of time have been “locked into to the trade issue”, leaving aside other fields.
“If we really want to reactivate Mercosur we would need a far greater integration effort and not feel satisfied where we stand now”, added Cardoso.
Regarding the current developed countries’ economic hard times, Cardoso said that Latin America overall has managed to overcome the situation in good conditions which he attributed to the experience collected from past crises and taking advantage of globalization.
“High prices for commodities’ exports in most of the region’s countries have helped to put an end to debt problems and accumulate sufficient reserves to face any outside surprises” underlined the former Brazilian leader.
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Read all commentsArgentina is a product of colonialism, conquered by the sword, most of the natives killed and infected by disease, their land taken from them and worked by imported African slaves, oversean by imported European colonials. The African's who made up 50% of the population would themselves completely disapear from Argentina between 1850-1900 in what could have been a chilling fore runner to the disareances of the Dirty War in the 1970's when an estimated 30,000 Argentines were raped, tortured and murdered, many more were held illegally in detention camps and tortured. The true figure for the dead could be as high as 100,000, no one knows because there is little official documentation and most bodies were dumped in the sea.
May 08th, 2012 - 02:41 am 0Argentina took land from its neighbours in numberous wars , civil wars and land grabs - Paraguay, Uraguay, Chile. Today Argentina despite the changed political landscape is still a nation characterised by uber nationalism. The claim to the Falklands was surendered in 1850 but reserected in 1941 by a fascist junta, which inc Peron, they thought their friends the Nazi were going to win the war, the Falklands looked easy picking.
In 1982 Argentina was under the latest succession of a series of fascism military junta's. Their hold on power was looking precarious, in deperation they sort a war, Chile looked like a good victim, they already claimed lots of land and were ignoring the international tribunals that had ruled in Chile's favor. But then they changed their mind and invaded the Falklands. Today the war is romanticized by a nation ruled by a kind of cross between a Neo-Nazi uber nationalist and a Charvesta Revolutionary uber Marxist. The only thing missing is the land reform. Maybe that's for later? But as few natives remain, maybe they'll just ignore their rights... God knows they always have. An entire culture replaced by a European one. Entire languages destroyed.
Timmerman should take time to read about his country's history.
“If we really want to reactivate Mercosur we would need a far greater integration effort and not feel satisfied where we stand now” Brazil is unhappy, very unhappy...
May 08th, 2012 - 02:58 am 0I think the Argentine political establishment is a cross between the Nazis and the Mafia.
May 08th, 2012 - 03:07 am 0Mercosur is going nowhere with the political setup in Argentina where the inmates are running the asylum.Brazil is going to have to make a choice one day between propping up the loonies in Argentina or getting onboard with the rest of the international community.The EU has already made that point as has the Financial Times.
Argentina needs a good smacking on its national bottom to get back to the real world and I would not be surprised if the one that administers it will be the country that thinks of itself as the regional hegemon;Brazil.
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