The 64th summit of the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) has opened in Paraguay, the organization’s press service reported on the social network on July 4.
“The port of Asunción will host the summit of heads of state of MERCOSUR, which will take place under the interim presidency of Paraguay. The events will extend from today until Monday, July 8, when Paraguay will hand over the interim presidency to Uruguay.”the publication reports.
The organisation brings together heads of member states and representatives of partner countries every six months. A new meeting will be held in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. The summit will be the last to be chaired by Paraguay; the presidency will then pass to Uruguay. will hand over control to Uruguay.
The President of Bolivia, Luis Arce, will attend the Mercosur summit as a representative of the new full member of the bloc. The Panamanian President, José Raúl Mulino, foreign ministers and representatives of other associated countries, including Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Guyana, are also expected to attend.
Argentine President Javier Miley has decided not to attend the summit, in an unprecedented act of snub for the bloc. In addition, the libertarian will participate in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on the same day, which will be held in the Brazilian town of Camboriú. It should be noted that the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro is among the guests at the event.
Milea’s decision not to attend the Mercosur summit comes after a new verbal dispute with Brazilian President Lula da Silva has deepened the differences between the two leaders. The conflict has caused tensions in relations between the two strategic partners in the region, which have a decisive weight in the trade bloc.
The Argentine president called his colleague a communist, a thief and a corrupt official. Lula asked Miley to “apologise” to him and to all of Brazil for “saying so much nonsense”. However, Miley continued to comment on the situation in an insulting tone: “Since when do you have to apologise for telling the truth?”
The door is increasingly clear for Mercosur to move towards a free trade agreement with China, an initiative that was pushed by Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou in 2022 but has since met with resistance from other Mercosur members. Montevideo’s decision to negotiate the treaty bilaterally with Beijing has caused tension in the bloc because it contradicts an internal rule that all negotiations with third countries must have the approval of other partners.
However, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry recently expressed its willingness to support the opening of negotiations with China, provided that the other member countries support this decision.
“There will be no problem in starting negotiations with China if we all go together,” Padovan said at a news conference.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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