By Dr Aprajita Kashyap
At a time of renewed expectations about Brazil’s role in international politics, hosting the G20 by Brazil could be a unique opportunity to bring a regional agenda representing Latin America to the G20. Three countries of Latin America are already part of the G20: Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, but they do not have coordinated political positions or an articulated regional identity. The question, therefore, is how, taking advantage of the Brazilian presidency, the window of opportunity could be expanded to build a Latin American agenda for the group.
The timing for the G20 to adopt a Latin American agenda is promising since they exhibit similar economic challenges and portend comparable development strategies. Outside the G20, the three Latin American member countries have built different political and economic identities. Mexico maintains strong ties with the United States, mainly due to USMCA, while Brazil and Argentina have undertaken projects to diversify their partnerships especially to other parts of the world. Be that as it may, despite frictions, the trajectory of their relationship shows some plausible paths towards convergences. Brazil and Argentina have operated in the G20 as strategic allies, coordinating positions, and placing themselves as Latin American voices, perhaps more than Mexico. From 2016 onwards, however, conservative and right-wing governments engendered a regional context of competition and fragmentation.
The intention to broaden the region’s participation in the discussions was reflected in Brazil’s invitation to Paraguay and Uruguay to participate in the G20 next year. The governments of Uruguay and Paraguay were requested to collaborate and support Brazil during its tenure. The inclusion of the guests is related to the interest of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government in expanding the representation of developing countries in international forums and strengthening MERCOSUR. Paraguay and Uruguay assume the pro tempore presidency of MERCOSUR in 2024 and, together with Brazil and Argentina, by including them as desired by Lula, would ensure that all active MERCOSUR members are present at the G20 for at least one year.
When Argentina assumed the bloc’s presidency in 2018, the country was particularly weak regarding its regional vision despite latent expectations of the region from this platform. Externally, the political context did not favour collective and concerted voices since multilateral forums were constantly being criticised by then-President Donald Trump. Additionally, domestic issues made it difficult for the three Latin countries to engage constructively- Mexico was bogged by debates on the migration issue, Argentina was going through a persistent economic and political crisis, and Brazil, under the government of Jair Bolsonaro, was sending clear messages that alliances were not a priority. Besides, the Venezuelan crisis constantly punctuated the space for debates on Latin America regionalism.
It is time for the next G20 presidency to show worthwhile efforts to collectively represent regional needs and policy initiatives within the G20. Upon assuming the Presidency of the Republic in his third term and given his stature, Lula has justifiably shown an inclination to reconnect with MERCOSUR countries. The international opportunity converges with internal realignments in Brazil that emphasise the regional agenda. Drawing an analogy from the membership of the EU and the expanded BRICS, MERCOSUR in G20 can collate issues of collective interest, such as the impact of climate change and opportunities for the energy transition; fair commercialisation of raw materials; planned extraction of strategic minerals in the region; reform of the international financial system and the institutionalisation of mechanisms for transfer of technology to the countries of the Global South. Nevertheless, to achieve inclusion of MERCOSUR, it is necessary that besides the posturing by Lula, the other current members, Argentina and Mexico, agree and recognise the importance of moving forward on a shared agenda and collective policy objectives.
The author is Faculty in Latin American Studies Programme, CCUS&LAS, SIS, JNU, New Delhi. Email: aprajitakash@gmail.com; aprajita@mail.jnu.ac.in.
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