The Summit of Heads of State and Associated States of MERCOSUR, which took place on Thursday, July 21 in Paraguay, ended with a declaration that did not have the signature of the Uruguayan authorities because it does not mention the proposal of Uruguay to make negotiations outside the regional bloc more flexible and modernize the trade agreement.
Before and during the Summit, Uruguay raised its need to advance in the negotiations with China to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
During his speech, the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, highlighted the Uruguayan policy of advancing in bilateral agreements with other states, which is not against the bloc. He advocated sincerity, understanding, and understanding among nations.
“The best way to protect my people, my nation, is by opening myself up to the world,” said Lacalle Pou.
For his part, the Argentine president, Alberto Fernández, said: “We are not deluded by the idea of separating and looking for individual solutions, with our own project that reaches me, all of that is short-lived.”
“I do not refuse at all to analyze what my friend Lacalle Pou calls flexibility, I just want us to continue traveling together,” he remarked.
we are left alone
In this sense, the senator of the Broad Front, Mario Bergara, said that the improvement of the conditions of access to the markets, including China, is fundamental. “It must be accompanied by powerful productive policies. But we must take care of the relationship with the region: we had to accompany the final declaration of MERCOSUR. We are left alone”.
Bergara pointed out that, in light of the background, Uruguay’s partners “are not in a position to teach about respect for the MERCOSUR agreement, which they have systematically violated.”
“Even so, our position should not be that of confrontation, it does not favor us,” remarked the Frente Amplio legislator.
