Disastrous outcome

Without regard for geostrategic, economic, and commercial interests, the Michel Temer government began to dismantle the regional integration processes that had been underway since the country's redemocratization, such as Mercosur and the Union of South American Nations (Unasur).

Against Mercosur, he conspired to remove Venezuela from the bloc for purely political reasons, creating a kind of ideological veto against leftist regimes. Furthermore, Temer and Macri worked to implode Mercosur by defending the thesis of "open regionalism," an attempt to destroy the customs union and transform the bloc into a mere free trade area, devoid of any geostrategic meaning.

A blow was also dealt to UNASUR, with the withdrawal of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Colombia, Chile, and Peru, leading to the virtual end of an entity built after a long process of regional dialogue and whose objectives are to strengthen citizenship in the subcontinent and promote its common defense, without the presence of extra-regional powers. These movements are a clear step backward, as they plunge the region into the uncertainty of divergences that can be overcome by integration processes. And they make it clear that the neoliberal governments of Brazil and Argentina choose to lead both countries and their allies to act as mere satellites of the interests of the European Union and the USA. They despise regional integration and want to join the club of rich countries, the OECD. They ignore that regional integration strengthens South American economies and allows for better insertion of the member states in the world scenario.

To weaken Mercosur and Unasur is a return to the times when the region was nothing more than a geopolitical backyard of the great powers and an advantageous area for economic exploitation. For Brazil, this is a terrible game. The PT governments, with their "proud and active" foreign policy, showed that Brazil only gains by breaking with conservative patterns in the external arena, as the country expanded its participation in world trade and became a first-rate player, respected by all. Regional integration is very positive. From 2003 to 2013, our exports to Mercosur increased by 617%, with a surplus of US$ 90 billion. In the same period, with ALADI (which includes Mercosur), the surplus was US$ 137,2 billion, exceeding those obtained with the US, EU and BRICS combined. The weakening of the regional integration process is harmful from all points of view.

Temer has been rapidly destroying all the successful diplomatic efforts that made Brazil a greater country. The current government preaches a foreign policy free of "ideological preferences," but its actions clearly have a partisan character. Temer seems to have a predilection for actions that cause divisions in South America, undertaking an aggressive right-wing versus left-wing campaign in the subcontinent. Thus, the current government's diplomatic record is disastrous. We have become a global pariah.