Entering EU markets is Mercosur's priority, says Brazil's foreign minister

Brazil's Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes said entering markets in the European Union is a priority for Mercosur. “We are working very hard to strike a Mercosur-EU deal so we can set a foot in EU markets and draw more investment. Today, it is a priority for us, for our foreign relations, to complete this deal, and we are well under way,” he said.

Aloysio Nunes was at the closing dinner of the 1st Spain-Brazil Forum on Monday night (April 24) at Hilton Hotel in São Paulo, along with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The forum was attended by representatives of the two countries' governments, businesses, and civil society, with the aim of furthering ties between the two countries.

The Brazilian minister compared the economic situation of the two countries. “Spain has seen its GDP shrink 10% over five years. Here in Brazil we were down 10% in two years. This how you address this—control inflation, control public spending, streamline the state, pursue needed labor and pension reforms. There [in Spain], 40% of the central government's budget goes into social security. It's also a heavy burden and they need to change that,” he said.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso was at one of the roundtables, discussing the impact of globalization in job distribution. “Globalization, which results from this technological development, boosts productivity and income, but there are no gains for employment. This is a problem. We need to address this issue, which is not simply economic—it's political and social as well as economic,” he said.

Cardoso mentioned a conversation he had with Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim. “Some time ago he told me, 'I'll try to persuade my friends in Europe they need to reduce working hours'. At first glance it may sound ludicrous to reduce working hours, but how are we going to give all these people a job when productivity keeps growing?”

He compared Slim's remarks to Karl Marx's ideas: “Productivity is going to increase in the future, so everyone will be able to do what they choose to do, some will be fishers, others will pray, others will farm. This is utopia,” the former president said. “The fact is we are seeing productivity skyrocket, and this productivity boosts income, income is concentrated, whereas the ability to employ [has decreased].”

Translated by Mayra Borges