The visit of the President of Brazil Inacio “Lula” Da Silva to Argentina has re-launched a theme that generates a lot of interest and emotion, and is that of a common currency between the two nations. Even the leaders have already confirmed the news, and even the owner of Twitter and Tesla celebrated the initiative, and the government hastened to respond.
Is Elon Musk talking about talks with Brazil to move towards a single currency? This visit from Lula is giving the whole world something to talk about,” government spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti tweeted.
The statements of the owner of Tesla for the project of the coin which would be called SUR They arose when the response to the news reached the foreign press. The Financial Times echoed him and the tycoon celebrated the idea. “Probably a good idea”he tweeted.
Quick to think, government spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti celebrated that tweet and wrote: “Is Elon Musk talking about talks with Brazil to move towards a single currency? Lula’s visit is already making headlines around the world”.
The Financial Times raised the issue on Sunday with statements by Economy Minister Sergio Massa. “There will be a decision to start looking at the parameters needed for a common currency, including everything from fiscal issues to the size of the economy and the role central banks will play,” he said. While clarifying: “I don’t want to generate false expectations”.
“It is the first step of a long journey that Latin America must travel”the Treasury chief said.
Confirmation has also arrived locally through a published column in the newspaper Profile with signed by Alberto Fernández and Lula Da Silva, before the arrival of the Brazilian president in the country to hold a bilateral meeting with his Argentine counterpart and participate in the CELAC summit.
After various rumors, the presidents of Argentina and Brazil have confirmed that they are making progress in the creation of “a common South American currency” which will work for “financial flows” as well as “trade” ones.
“We intend to break down barriers to our trade, simplify and modernize rules and encourage the use of local currencies,” they said in the publication.
“The fluid and dynamic relationship between Brazil and Argentina is essential for the progress of regional integration”, raised the leaders.
A common currency after several failed attempts
The intention to give new impetus to the project of a common South American currency arrived after several attempts for starting work in this direction.
Lula Da Silva proposed it as soon as he was elected For his first mandate, in 2002, he was revived years later by the governments of Jair Bolsonaro and Mauricio Macri, and is now dreamed of by Lula and Alberto Fernández.
The latest news had come a few days after Lula Da Silva took office in Brazil. The Argentine Ambassador Daniel Scioli was received by the Brazilian Economy Minister, Fernando Haddad, and he assured after the meeting that he had discussed a single currency project for trade within Mercosur.
He also clarified that the project has not resulted in the disappearance of the coins themselves -the depreciated Argentine peso, the Brazilian real, the Paraguayan guaraní and the Uruguayan peso-. But he said that the unification of currencies for commercial transactions was sought in order not to depend on the dollar.
The Argentines therefore argued that this would try not to depend on the dollar and that it would imply the evolution of the current local currency payment system (SML), managed by the Central Bank.
Furthermore, the Argentine government and the Ministry of Economy ensure that Haddad had already given a name to the new currency: “SUR”.
However, the following day, January 6, Haddad denied Scioli and the leaders of the Argentine government. “There is no proposal for a single Mercosur currency, you’ll find out first”, Brazil’s economy minister said in press statements.
Scioli’s team had ensured that Haddad’s statements did not correspond to a denial and that the project would be included in the economic negotiations with Lula during his visit to Argentina.
NS
Source: Clarin
