Mercosur - Changing Course?

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Excerpts

Mercosur began steps to widen the process of regional integration through a series of framework agreements with various countries and regional blocs. But in 1997, the international financial environment changed. The Asian financial crisis of 1997 had a devastating effect on several developing economies.In 1998, Russia announced a moratorium on the repayment of its foreign debt. This brought several other countries under a cloud as well... The moratorium severely undermined the credibility of developing economies to honor debt repayment obligations and led to capital flight from countries as far away as Brazil and Argentina leading to a serious financial crisis in both the countries............

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The financial crises, first in Brazil and then in Argentina definitely hurt the growth and development of Mercosur. GDP and foreign investment fell considerably and there were instances of negative growth and the economies entered into a recession. Argentina was one of the economies worst hit by the devaluation of the Brazilian Real, as Brazil was the destination for one-third of its exports........

Exhibit I: Map of South America with Mercosur Members
Exhibit II: Stages of Economic Integration
Exhibit III: Exports Within and Outside Mercosur Countries- 1990-2001
Exhibit IV: GDP of Mercosur Countries
Exhibit V: Average Nominal Exchange Rates between the US Dollar, Brazilian 'Real' and Argentine 'Peso'
Exhibit VI: Share of Imports in Argentina's Consumption Goods
Exhibit VII: Share of Mercosur Members in Latin American Economy
Exhibit VIII: Brazilian Exports in USD Billion
Exhibit IX: Percentage of Brazilian Exports to GDP