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Sink or Float: Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance

By Jennifer Arias

Is a rapprochement between the blocs on the horizon?

Since the creation of the Pacific Alliance in April 2011, observers have often compared it to the older Mercosur (Southern Common Market). In a January 2014 Wall Street Journal article, David Luhnow likened the two trade blocs to “two Latin Americas”—one (Mercosur) comprising state-oriented countries and the other (the Pacific Alliance) characterized by an affinity for the free market.1

André Loes, HSBC’s chief economist for Latin America, sharpened the comparison. Loes described the members of Mercosur—formed in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and...

Read this article on the Americas Quarterly website. | Subscribe to AQ.

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