Aproximação e Distanciamento na Política Externa de Bolsonaro para a Argentina no Mercosul

Abstract

In its 30 years, Mercosur has shown resilience in the context of South American regionalism, and trust between Brazil and Argentina has historically been central to integration. However, the Brazilian Foreign Policy (PEB) under the Bolsonaro government strained relations with Argentina after the election of Alberto Fernández, creating uncertainty about the aim of the integration. Thus, we sought to answer the question: how did Bolsonaro’s PEB position itself concerning Argentina in Mercosur? The goal was to identify Bolsonaro’s PEB positions for Mercosur and to investigate the main convergences and divergences between Brazil and Argentina in Mercosur. The sample included primary sources from Brazilian newspapers (Folha de S.Paulo, O Estado de S.Paulo, and Valor Econômico) and Brazilian government websites (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government Office, House, Senate). Therefore, we categorize Bolsonaro’s PEB for Argentina in Mercosur into two phases: trade diplomacy with a solid liberal ideological bias and diplomacy of ‘harm containment’.