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With Argentina's president skipping Mercosur, the future of the trade alliance looks doubtful
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Foreign ministers, front row, and staff pose for a photo ahead of a Mercosur summit at the Port building in Asuncion, Paraguay, Sunday, July 7, 2024. From left are Uruguay's Omar Paganini, Argentina's Diana Mondino, Paraguay's Ruben Ramirez, Brazil's Mauro Vieira and Bolivia's Celinda Sosa. - photo by AP Photo/Jorge Saenz
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay (AP) — The most notable thing about the Mercosur trade bloc's meetings on Sunday in Paraguay was an absence — that of Argentine President Javier Milei. With the Argentine populist skipping the summit to star at a right-wing rally in Brazil, South America's biggest trade bloc — politically divided, notoriously slow-moving and beset by backsliding — faces an uncertain future. Milei has advocated for pulling Argentina, a leader of the alliance, out of the agreement altogether.