Mexico’s Entry into Mercosur: an Argentinean Perspective

In view of the challenges of the international agenda, Galié underlines how the governments of Mercosur member countries —Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay— have agreed on the need for a greater level of integration in order to strengthen the internal and external credibility of the project, which, aside from matters of an economic and commercial nature, implies the forging of new political, social, cultural, educational, scientific and technological ties that will help create a unique regional identity. In the specific case of Argentina, the author points out that one of the main objectives of the country’s foreign policy is to make headway in the consolidation of Mercosur as a common market. Mexico’s request to join this regional organization, which was immediately accepted by the four Mercosur countries, will come into effect once negotiations on a free trade agreement between both parties have been concluded. In this regard, he acknowledges the enormous potential Mexico’s incorporation into Mercosur implies in political, economic and commercial terms. According to Galié, the bilateral economic-commercial relationship between Mexico and Argentina is characterized by a relatively poor performance in the area of trade, despite the significant flow of investment between the two countries. The author believes that a prosperous region can only be built based on development policies designed to effectively improve the economic conditions of Latin American countries and their inhabitants.