What price free trade for South America?

[Dover]

What price free trade for South?

Michael Astor

Friday, January 19, 2007

South America's lunge toward the left is overshadowing the goal of free trade as the continent's most prominent leaders meet in Rio for a two-day summit of the fractured Mercosur economic bloc.
While the Mercosur leaders from five nations plan to consider membership requests from Bolivia and Ecuador and discuss a development fund for the bloc's poorer countries during the summit, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is lobbying for a "socialism for the 21st century" that seeks to unite the region's economies but has little to do with free trade.

Analysts are now questioning whether Mercosur's future role will be as a political stage for criticism of Western-style free trade, or as a forceful negotiating bloc that can cut trade deals beneficial to the continent with economic giants such as China and the European Union.

Brazilian Foreign Minster Celso Amorim insisted Wednesday night, on the eve of the summit, that Mercosur is an important player on the world stage, and that its power is growing.

"Mercosur is becoming stronger every day, and more important to the world," he told the Agencia Estado news agency. "Brazil could negotiate on its own with China, but together with Mercosur, it has more leverage."..cont'd

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