Brazil’s government scrapped plans to send a delegate to Alberto Fernandez’s inauguration ceremony in Argentina, representing an escalation in tensions between South America’s top economies.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that Mercosur trade block needs to hurry up and implement agreements the group has negotiated.
In what was his last international activity, outgoing president Mauricio Macri attended the 55th Mercosur leaders summit in Bento Goncalves, southern Brazil, which he described as a special diplomatic occasion for his administration's strive to put Argentina back in the wide world map.
Brazil on Thursday handed over the six-month rotating presidency of the Mercosur trade bloc (Southern Common Market) to Paraguay. During a ceremony at the bloc's 55th summit in Bento Goncalves, Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro expressed confidence in his Paraguayan counterpart Mario Abdo Benitez and his leadership skills.
The South American four-nation trade bloc Mercosur began a tense meeting on Wednesday reeling from US steel and aluminium tariffs and a spat between its two biggest members. Foreign ministers of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay opened the two-day meeting in the southern Brazilian town of Bento Goncalves, paving the way for a head of state summit on Thursday.
Mercosur faces a tense future, the president-elect of Uruguay said on Monday, referring to a diplomatic spat between regional heavyweight economies Brazil and Argentina. Brazil’s right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro and Argentina’s incoming leader, left-leaning Peronist Alberto Fernandez, have sparred openly.
Argentine elected president Alberto Fernandez on Sunday called for ex-president Lula da Silva to be freed from prison, which most certainly puts him on a collision course with Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said late Sunday upon departing from Abu Dhabi after a two-day state visit that if the policies of Argentina's next president affect Mercosur's agreement with the European Union (EU), a solution may be to remove the southern neighbours from the bloc.
A possible victory of opposition candidate Alberto Fernández in Argentina's presidential election on Sunday could put the Mercosur trade bloc at risk, Brazil's right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, said on Wednesday.
Mercosur aims to conclude free trade agreements Singapore and South Korea by next year, as it also eyes deals with several other Asian countries, a Brazilian diplomat said on Tuesday.