Economy Minister Says Brazil Will Leave Mercosur Should Argentina Halt Liberalization

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Thursday night, August 15th, that should the opposition win the presidential elections in Argentina and show resistance to Mercosur’s economic liberalization, Brazil will leave the bloc.

The primaries held last weekend by the neighboring country, which serve as a national survey, pointed to the favoring of the electoral slate headed by Peronist Alberto Fernández, whose vice president is former president Cristina Kirchner. They won 47 percent of the votes. The current president, Mauricio Macri, received only 32 percent.

The first round of presidential voting is scheduled for October 27th, and should a candidate secure more than 45 percent of votes, a second round will not be required. “If Macri wins, Bolsonaro gets along with him, and the two get along with Trump. So everything will progress swiftly.”

“What if it goes wrong, if the other side wins? The question is simple. We’ll continue to open trade. Will you? If you don’t, then goodbye. We’ll leave Mercosur. I believe we will be very practical. And we don’t fear the impact of this. Brazil needs to resume its growth dynamics,” said Guedes.

The statements were made during a speech in the closing ceremony of the Seminar on Natural Gas, an event organized every two years in Rio de Janeiro by the Brazilian Institute of Petroleum, Gas, and Biofuels (IBP).

In June, Mercosur signed a free trade agreement with the European Union. According to the minister, the United States also expressed interest in a trade agreement with the bloc. He further said that Brazil’s willingness to open up its market makes it a competitive country.

At the end of the event, Guedes spoke to journalists and explained that Brazil does not need to worry about the external crisis if it has done its homework properly because its economy has its own growth dynamics.

Guedes is known in Brazil for trying to impose his views with ultimatums. In May of this year, he affirmed that he would resign his post if the reforms of the Social Security system in Brazil, wanted by the administration, turn into a “mini-reform”.

In Argentina, there are more and more voices that do not appreciate the threatening gestures from the northern neighbor Brazil. On the contrary, some say that Brazil only has to try once more to interfere in the elections in Argentina and people will turn away from Macri. Macri is being seen by an increasing number of Argentinians as Bolsonaro’s puppet.