Brazil’s Lula Vows to Grow Mercosur Amid Uruguay Flak, Argentina Crisis
- Brazil assumed Mercosur presidency at Argentina summit
- Member countries split on Venezuela, bilateral trade deals
This article is for subscribers only.
Brazil’s plans to strengthen and expand the Mercosur trading bloc are running into growing disagreement among its members over several topics, including Venezuela and free trade agreements with other markets.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva assumed the rotating presidency of the South American customs union Tuesday, promising to reduce dissent in the group founded by Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. His push for Mercosur to resume talks with Venezuela, suspended from the bloc in 2017 for breaching its democratic clauses, faced immediate backlash.