Explaining Brazil Podcast #12: Brazil and Mercosur

May 23, 2018 • Reading Time: 3 minutes

Give this latest episode of Explaining Brazil a listen to find out why Mercosur has been underperforming for the past 27 years of its existence. Our podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts. 

Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device:

An elephant, a mouse, and two ants. That’s how an Uruguayan diplomat described Mercosur – the Common Market of the South. The comparison illustrates the extent to which the free trade bloc is left unbalanced. Created in 1991, Mercosur is formed by Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Venezuela has been suspended, and Bolivia will soon join. What do these economies have in common? As it turns out, not much – and that is one of the reasons why the free trade agreement remains highly dysfunctional.

On this podcast

Gustavo Ribeiro has extensive experience covering Brazilian politics. His work has been featured across Brazilian and French media outlets, including Veja, Época, Folha de São Paulo, Médiapart and Radio France Internationale. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Abril Prize for outstanding political journalism. He holds a master’s degree in Political Science and Latin American studies from Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris.

Mário Braga is an economics reporter from São Paulo, Brazil. He is currently an Erasmus Mundus Journalism scholar pursuing his Master’s degree at Denmark’s Aarhus University, with a year-long specialization in Business and Financial Journalism at City, University of London. He has worked at InfoMoney, Agência Estado’s Broadcast, Brazil’s leading financial newswire, local TV stations, and at the United States General Consulate in São Paulo.

This podcast was produced by Maria Martha Bruno. Maria Martha is a journalist with 14 years of experience in politics, arts, and breaking news. She has collaborated with Al Jazeera, NBC, and CNN, among others, and worked as an international correspondent in Buenos Aires. Do you have a suggestion for our next Explaining Brazil podcast? Drop us a line at [email protected] Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Reply

or to participate.