Mercosur held a “tired” summit in Asunción, with stalled agreements and without Milei

He Mercosur held a summit in Asunción on Monday marked by the absence of the Argentine president, Javier Milei, which sparked criticism from his colleagues at a time when the bloc is stalled by the lack of progress towards an agreement with the European Union.

The presidents present at the 64th Mercosur summit – Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, Uruguayan Luis Lacalle Pou, Bolivian Luis Arce and host Santiago Peña – lamented the lack of integration of the regional bloc and a tendency for it to be undermined by ideological differences.

“If Mercosur is so important, all the presidents should be here. I attach importance to Mercosur. And if we really believe in this bloc, we should all be here.”said Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou.

Lacalle Pou was referring to Milei, an ultra-liberal economist who is carrying out a profound reform of the State in Argentina, and who missed the meeting after having exchanged insults with Lula, accusing him of being a “leftist” with an “inflamed ego.”

“Those who know Latin America They recognize the value of the State as a promoter and planner of development,” Lula said in his speech, in an allusion to the reforms of the Argentine president, who has said that he “loves” to destroy the State from within, as “a mole”.

“There is no point in resorting to archaic and isolationist nationalisms. Nor is there any justification for reviving ultra-liberal experiments that have exacerbated inequalities,” Lula continued, saying that never before had Mercosur faced so many regional and global challenges.

The Paraguayan president agreed in statements to journalists. “Mercosur made great progress in the 1990s, but in the 2000s (…) there was a change in trend with an ideological bias that caused the bloc to disintegrate,” Peña said“We are a bit fatigued by integration.”

“We don’t have to agree, but we do have to be able to listen to different opinions. I hope that we can reach this maturity as a group.”said Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino, representing Milei.

More flexibility

Mondino criticized the “overregulation” of the regional bloc, with which, instead of defending themselves from other markets, member countries ended up limiting their own exports.

“Mercosur has stopped being an escape valve and has become a corset that immobilizes us,” Mondino said when advocating for “ending tariff barriers” and stop being a block “small, protected, fearful”, in a position opposite to Argentina’s traditional protectionist tendency.

Flexibility – which allows members of the bloc to negotiate agreements with third parties without the consent of their partners – is an old demand of Uruguay, which now assumes the six-month presidency of the group and will dedicate it to promoting an agreement with China.

The mission is difficult, as Paraguay lacks relations with the Asian country because it recognizes Taiwan as the Republic of China, something that Beijing does not tolerate.

“We are not closed to negotiations as a bloc, but we are not willing to give up negotiations that have lasted more than 66 years with the Republic of China.” Peña explained when asked if he would approve a free trade agreement with Beijing.

On a more optimistic note, Lula and his colleagues highlighted a recent successful agreement with Singapore, which broke more than a decade of lethargy when it was signed in December, and the launch last week of negotiations with the United Arab Emirates.

EU deal stalled

The meeting is also taking place amid a stalemate in negotiations for a free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), which has been under negotiation for more than 20 years and which plans to eliminate most tariffs between the two zones, which would create a commercial space of more than 700 million consumers.

For Lula, the agreement with the EU has not been reached “only because they have not been able to resolve their internal contradictions.”

The agreement is opposed by some European countries, mainly France, whose agricultural sector fears competition from South American agricultural products. “I think ideology is harming the union between Mercosur and the EU,” said Lacalle Pou.

At this summit, Bolivian Luis Arce formalized his country’s entry into the bloc after having promulgated the accession law on Friday, days after having quelled what he described as an attempted coup d’état in La Paz.

Mercosur countries condemned the episode, except Argentina, which considered it a “fraud”. Following his colleagues’ statements, Mondino said: “No coup d’état or attack on democracy is acceptable.”

Founded in 1991, Mercosur is the main recipient of foreign investment in South America and has a GDP of US$ 2.86 trillion.

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