The Mercosur is the acronym for Southern Common Market , an economic bloc currently composed of four South American countries, created on March 26, 1991.
There are five countries that make up Mercosur:Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. The latter, however, is temporarily suspended from the block.
Characteristics of Mercosur
Mercosur countries
Currently, Mercosur is composed of States Parties, which have voice and vote; and Associated States, which only participate in discussions, but have no decision-making power.
There are five States Parties:
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Paraguay
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
The Associated States are:
- Chile (since 1996),
- Peru (since 2003),
- Colombia
- Ecuador (since 2004)
- Guyana
- Suriname (since 2013).
Paraguay, a member since the creation of Mercosur, was temporarily suspended from the bloc due to the deposition of former President Fernando Lugo in June 2012. It is worth mentioning that Paraguay was only suspended from political agreements, as the economic ones remained in force. . However, in 2013 he was reincorporated into the institution.
Venezuela, which joined the bloc in 2012, was suspended in 2017. This is because the country was not fulfilling the objectives set, above all, related to democracy and human rights.
Bolivia took another step towards its effective incorporation into the bloc in 2015, when it signed a Protocol of Accession to Mercosur.
Mercosur Objective
Mercosur's objective is to promote the integration of South American countries, especially those of the Southern Cone, in the economic, political and social spheres. Likewise, it wants to preserve democracy in the countries of the South American continent.
The main requirement to enter Mercosur is to have a democratic government. Countries that do not comply with this rule are temporarily or permanently suspended from the bloc, as has already happened with Paraguay (2012) and Venezuela (2017).
Mercosur also promotes the integration of South American peoples through art exhibitions and biennials.
Mercosur Day is celebrated annually on the 26th of March and each year there is a theme around the common market.
Mercosur Organization
Starting from the "Ouro Preto Protocol ", signed on December 17, 1994, Mercosur has an institutional structure composed of:
- Common Market Council (CMC):the instrument in charge of political leadership in the integration process. The presidency of this Council is exercised on a rotating basis, every six months, by each of the States Parties.
- Common Market Group (GMC):this is a group with decision-making power to establish work programs and negotiate agreements with third parties on behalf of Mercosur.
- Mercosur Trade Commission (CCM):assists the GMC in drawing up the bloc's trade policy.
- Joint Parliamentary Commission (CPC):has a consultative, deliberative character and formulates Declarations, Provisions and Recommendations. It has up to 64 parliamentarians.
- Foro Económico-Social Consultative Forum (FCES):consultative body that is part of the sectors of the economy and society, manifesting itself through nominations to the GMC.
- Mercosur Secretariat (SM):with permanent status based in Montevideo, Uruguay.
- Mercosur Structural Convergence Fund (FOCEM):intended to finance programs to promote structural convergence.
- Olivos Protocol:for the Settlement of Disputes between States Parties. From the admission of this Protocol, the Permanent Review Court was established with the aim of guaranteeing the correct interpretation, application and compliance with the normative set of the Block.
- Mercosur Social Institute:with the aim of subsidizing the formulation of social policies at the regional level.
- The Mercosur structure also has specific bodies for resolving disputes, such as the Ad Hoc Courts and the Permanent Review Court.
Mercosur motto, headquarters and languages
Mercosur's official motto is "Our North is the South " and its headquarters are located in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The official languages are Portuguese, Spanish and Guarani.
Mercosur Economy
Currently, the Mercosur countries have a population of approximately 311 million inhabitants and a GDP of 2 trillion dollars.
Since its inception, trade between member countries has increased 20 times. Data from 2016 reveal that Mercosur is the world's largest net exporter of sugar; the world's largest soybean exporter and the 1st producer and 2nd largest world exporter of beef.
History of Mercosur
Although it was only created in 1991, the principles for creating a free trade and movement area in South America date back to the 1980s.
Fresh out of the military dictatorship, Brazil and Argentina sign the "Integration, Cooperation and Development Treaty ", in 1988, in order to inaugurate a new milestone in the international relations of both countries.
This treaty aimed to establish a common market in South America, to which other Latin American countries could join. In this way, the presidents of Uruguay and Paraguay joined the initiative.
Later, the bloc would be made official on March 26, 1991, with the signing of the "Treaty of Asunción " in Paraguay.
Objectives of the Treaty of Asuncion
The purpose of the Treaty of Asuncion is the connection of States Parties through the free movement of goods, services, as well as the consignment of a Common External Tariff (TEC).
This will culminate in the adoption of a common commercial policy. In other words, an intra-zone free trade area and common commercial policy between these four South American countries.
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