
Brazil, the country with most territory in Latin America also has the largest population, almost 186 million according to preliminary figures from the latest census, released by the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, IBGE.

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”.

Brazil’s leading presidential candidate Jose Serra described Mercosur as a “farce” and a “barrier” for Brazil to sign trade agreements with other countries.