Last Friday, Bolivian ambassador Ariel Basteiro quickly entered the Foreign Ministry. It’s falling in the afternoon. I will go to Minister Santiago Cafiero and the economic area of ​​the Ministry.

Hours before, he knew ClarionLuis Arce’s government sent a communication to Mercosur members saying that evaluates its block entry processand that, at the very least, he wanted to cancel the so -called Economic Complementation Agreement 36.

Signed in 1996 between Bolivia and Mercosur, ACE 36 itself set the goal of development a place of free trade for a maximum period of 10 years from entering into force both (1997). Nor did it happen after Bolivians signed, in 2012, their compliance with the Southern Common Market, which they now deny. In this case, all parliaments adopted this compliance except the Brazilian.

The news of the trans-Andes country they don’t go down well on a block that is in danger of gradual disintegration, and because of the circular blows it receives.

In early July, the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (Venezuela is a member but suspended since 2017), along with related countries such as Chile Bolivia, are scheduled to meet in Asunción. Mario Abdo Benitez had a pro tempore presidency until the middle of the year when he handed it over to Luis Lacalle Pou, the bloc’s other problem due to his reinforced claim of commercial opening.

A month and a half after the meeting, Bolivia was not the only one causing the last quake. Lacalle Pou was in Paraguay a few days ago with Abdo Benitez and this week begins a journey to see Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the United Kingdom who, since leaving Brexit, is courting to sign free trade agreements with Mercosur or to its members separately.

The political aspects of any agreement can relate to sensitive aspects in Argentina regarding the conflict over Malvinas sovereignty. One example is London requiring that its military planes or some companies associated with British Airways use Montevideo on their South American stop in the archipelago.

In Cafiero’s office, they said they were calm, and that Uruguay would not go that far. The future will tell. For that matter, Jair Bolsonaro it has already refused to ban those who land on its territory. They said they had the right to allow it and it did not affect Brazil’s support for Argentina.

“What we’re saying to Argentina and Brazil is that Uruguay needs to destroy the corset. Uruguay needs to open up to the world; if you want to accompany it, accompany it; if not, we will go alone. We will not violate Mercosur,” he said. by Lacalle Pou last week, who was interviewed at the Democracy and Development cycle, organized by the Group Clarion.

“The international law enforced at Mercosur allows us to move forward with flexibility,” he added, reiterating the concepts that at the time generated a fierce battle with Alberto Fernández, defender of Protectionism of Argentina.

Oriental has put all its chips into Uruguayan exports reaching record levels and wants to advance in external negotiations with China and Turkey. But it faced opposition from Argentina and Brazil.

“If I did that I would blow up Mercosur” he repeated this Saturday in a newspaper interview The country, from Montevideo, the ambassador there, Alberto Iribarne. He referred to a China-Uruguay agreement that “needs to be discussed within the bloc if it does not want to destroy the Asunción agreement,” he added, referring to the agreement that created the bloc in 1991.

Brazil says

From the Government in Buenos Aires they sent signs of dialogue. They believe Montevideo and La Paz are seeking to “tighten up” to negotiate something. Here they are asked to concentrate on open agreements as negotiated in India. But now Brazil has added another claim.

About October and November last year the Government agreed Brazil unilaterally reduced import tariffs by 10% of approximately 87% of products and services outside of Mercosur. Brazil is trying to moderate its inflationary expectations. This has caused anger in Uruguay that seems to have been neglected.

Cafiero and Ambassador Daniel Scioli spoke in person to Brasilia, who faced strong Brazilian pressure in the framework of a bilateral relationship crossed by the fact that Jair Bolsonaro and Alberto Fernández they did not get along and never met again. Today, the Argentine government is re -evaluating Lula da Silva’s victory but it is not yet certain and Bolsonaro has a chance to be re -elected.

As far as Mercosur is concerned, the problem is that now Brazil is asking another 10 percent decrease who refuses to give up Argentina and says it is not in a position to do so. It will come back to another negotiation.