Brazil likely to reinforce Mercosur ties after US setback

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro is likely to reinforce ties with Mercosur after a setback in relations with the US. 

"We must not waste time, we need to carry forward the reforms that are giving Mercosur vitality, without accepting ideological setbacks,” Bolsonaro said during a ceremony to hand over the presidency of the bloc to Paraguay’s President Mario Abdo Benítez.

During last year's election campaign and in the first months of his presidency after taking office in January, Bolsonaro pushed for closer ties with Washington, claiming he had a close personal relationship with Donald Trump. The Brazilian leader also criticized on several occasions Mercosur bureaucracy, saying it was hindering efforts to close trade deals with other nations. 

Some observers even feared for the future of Mercosur – a bloc formed by Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The Brazilian president also criticized previous administrations' close ties with China. However, all that changed recently.

In November, Bolsonaro received China’s President Xi Jinping on an official visit and praised the relationship between the two nations, calling for more investment from the Asian country. 

Then earlier this month Trump claimed Brazil and Argentina were devaluing their currencies and announced duties on steel and aluminum imports from both nations. 

“Trump made a brutal mistake by accusing Brazil of artificially devaluing the real, but we will try to solve this situation in a calm, quiet conversation,” Brazil’s economy minister Paulo Guedes said in an interview with website O Antagonista this week. 

BRAZIL-ARGENTINA RELATIONS

According to observers, although it is still unclear how the relationship between right-winger Bolsonaro and incoming center-left Argentine president Alberto Fernández will be, the approach is likely to be pragmatic. 

Argentina is Brazil’s third largest trading partner, behind China and the US. More importantly, trade with Argentina comprises added-value products like vehicles and auto part exports, while trade with China and the US is dominated by commodities. 

Brazil’s powerful lower house president, centrist lawmaker Rodrigo Maia, visited Fernández this week and declared his support for the future administration. 

“Argentina is our most important partner and therefore Brazil and Argentina are stronger when they're together. Our visit today has further consolidated this partnership,” Maia said in a tweet. 

In photo: Alberto Fernández, who takes office December 10, and Rodrigo Maia. (Published on Maia's official twitter account.)