Presidents Lula and Lacalle Pou, this Wednesday in Montevideo, where the Brazilian was on an official visit. Gastón Britos (EFE)
Tensions within Mercosur, the bloc made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, marked this Wednesday the official visit of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to neighboring Uruguay, the last leg of his first trip abroad.
Appearing with his counterpart Luis Lacalle Pou in Montevideo, Lula has acted as regional leader to urge Uruguay to be patient and allow Mercosur to ratify the trade agreement reached with the European Union before the bloc seeks a possible pact together. with Chinese.
The Uruguayan initiative to negotiate with the Asian giant on its own — including entry into the Trans-Pacific Agreement — has the partners in an uproar.
Lula has affirmed that, in his opinion, "it is urgent and necessary for Mercosur to reach an agreement with the European Union", referring to the pact closed in 2019 and pending ratification.
And he added: "What I told President Lacalle, and I have told my ministers, is that we are going to intensify the discussions with the European Union and we are going to sign this agreement so that we can discuss with our Chinese friends about a possible agreement China-Mercosur”.
The ratification of the Mercosur-EU agreement is stalled, largely due to the misgivings of some European partners with the policy of the Government of Jair Bolsonaro in the Amazon.
Now, with his departure from power and the arrival of Lula and his commitment to place the environment as a priority, the matter has taken on new vigor.
But along the way, the demands of Uruguay, which wants to modernize and make the South American bloc more flexible, intersect.
And there the president of Brazil has displayed that charm that marks his style of tireless negotiator.
He has been sympathetic to the concerns of his neighbor, and an enthusiastic supporter that, first, the technicians;
then, the ministers and, in the end, the presidents of the bloc sit down to negotiate to "be able to renew what needs to be renewed."
Just before, he had said: "It's fair to want to produce more and want to sell more, and that's why it's important to open up as much as possible to the business world."
Lacalle Pou has reiterated the Uruguayan vocation of belonging to Mercosur and its full awareness of its position vis-à-vis its continental-sized neighbor.
"No one escapes the economic and demographic weight of Brazil (...) and, if there is a decision by President Lula to move forward with China, we can move forward," he stressed, reports France Presse.
He has promised to keep his partners informed of his contacts with the second world power, reports Efe.
In contrast to his predecessor, the Brazilian has made it clear to center-right Lacalle that ideological affinity, or lack thereof, does not affect his relationship with other heads of state.
"Presidents don't have to think like me, nor do they have to like me," he declared in a speech that began with personal thanks for having come to Brasilia on January 1 to take office accompanied by former presidents Julio María Sanguinetti and José Mujica, whom he was going to see later: "Before I go home, I'm going to stop by Mujica's house to visit him."
In Montevideo ends the first international tour of Lula, who began his third presidential term less than a month ago.
Return that an assault of thousands of Bolsonaristas to the three powers tried to derail.
The Brazilian took advantage of his participation in the Celac (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) summit, from which Bolsonaro took Brazil out in 2020, to make a plea in Buenos Aires in defense of greater regional integration that he wishes to lead and that serves as a springboard to boost its presence in all kinds of international forums.
The Brazilian has once again used football diplomacy in Montevideo, as he did in Argentina.
"The only thing that hurts me about Uruguay is the 1950 World Cup. But, look at him, it was a long time ago," he said.
That 2-1 of the visitors in Maracana went down in history as the Macanazo.
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