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LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

December 18, 2023

What Will Mercosur Membership Mean for Bolivia?

Bolivian President Luis Arce participated earlier this month in a meeting of the heads of state of Mercosur in Rio de Janeiro. Bolivia was admitted as a member of the trade bloc at the meeting. // File Photo: @LuchoXBolivia via X.

Q

  • Bolivia became a member of Mercosur on Dec. 7 during a regional summit of the South American trade bloc. The country had sought Mercosur membership for years, but concerns about the stability of Bolivia’s democratic institutions had stalled its admission to the bloc. How did Mercosur resolve its uncertainties about admitting Bolivia, and what does the country’s admission say about international views of its government and its democratic institutions? What will joining Mercosur mean for the Bolivian economy and for the trade bloc? Which parts of Bolivia’s economy will most benefit from membership in Mercosur?

A

Roberto Laserna, director of the Center for the Study of Economic and Social Reality (CERES) in Cochabamba, Bolivia: “The incorporation of Bolivia into Mercosur represents primarily a political gesture that Brazil promoted to boost an agreement that has made very little progress, and by Bolivia whose government needs to show some accomplishments. Mercosur was initially conceived to proceed in a much more agile way than the agreements previously tested, but the results are quite modest in its three decades. Argentina’s new government has already said it has little confidence in the agreement, and the governments of Uruguay and Paraguay have their sights set on other trade strategies. Bolivia joined in 1996, obtained associate status in 2015 and has now been admitted as a full member. The Bolivian government has reiterated that the country is thus expressing its desire to…”

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