A South American Common Market Ala The EU From 1974.

Could it have become as suceessful as the EU has become? Was it ever feasible? South American leaders certainly had a cross border agreement on taking out dissidents as under operation Condor! So why not an economic agreement?
 
Well, you have Mercosur....

One of the advantages a trading bloc gives you is a large internal market. Europe is a huge economy, and by forming the EU, created an economic rival to the US. All of South America is a much smaller economy. The economies of scale are less than in Europe, although still worth pursuing.

The other problem is getting goods around. Europe is pretty flat, really, certainly between France, Benelux and Germany. There's also good roads and rail connections.

Getting stuff back and forth across the Andes is going to be tougher. Peru-Brazil trade would be very expensive.

Also, there has been a lot more rivalry between various South American nations than between European ones since... 1950? say?

Plus, several nations were run by dictators, juntas and strongmen. This doesn't prevent trade blocs, I'm sure, but it probably hinders them.

So...
And earlier Mercosur? sure. A more successful one? sure. Something to rival the EU? nope.
 

Shooter

Banned
Depends on the details?

How has the EU done in the long run? What do they do now and what do they do if the half dozen or so most profligate socialist nations default? How would this be beneficial to South & Central America?
On the other hand, if the did it in such a way that no individual nation could inflate the currency, borrow beyond it's income and set the value of said currency Vs the Dollar by auction, THEN it would be a great leap forward and prosperity would increase vastly!
 
A matter of 'cooperation' between South American brothers dating back to 1978, is it seems about to come to light ie the bribery allegations that the Argentinian govt under Vidella bought off the Peruvian national soccer team ( which had an Argentinian born keeper, Quiroga ) to throw an important world cup match! They actually 'lost' 6-0 and Argentina pipped Brazil for a place in the final V Holland which they won 3-1 aet.
Ardiles one of their great players and a lawyer by training, later claimed they ( The Argentinian national team ) had been used politically!
Actually Peru suffered bad earthquake damage around that time and Argentina was a major supplier of aid to it subsequently, may be that was the 'bribe'!
 
In fact South (and Central) America did try to implement a common market area during the 60s....it was called LAFTA but it never grew from being a vague "Latin American integration dream".

During the 70s you had lot of factors against a closer integration of South American nations:

1- Historical rivalry between Argentina and Brasil and mutual distrust would kill the integration project between the largest SA economies (both countries even started a "nuclear race" to develop middle range nuclear missiles during the 70s).

2- Brazil, SA largest economy and population and an essential piece for a common market in SA as Germany in the EU, never had closer links with SA until the 80s. Brazil, being the only no-Spanish country in SA (excluding the small and isolated Guyanas) and with the majority of its population far from borders (and contact) with other SA countries, had much more social, economic and political links with the USA and its former Colonial metropole, Portugal than with Argentina or other SA countries.

3- Internal instabilities in several SA countries, as semi civil war and guerillas in Bolivia, Argentina, Peru and Colombia

4- Lack of physical integration between countries. SA infrastructure is far from being state of art until today and much worse in the 60s. Brazil, for example, would only PAVE (!) its highways linking it with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay during the 70s. Until today a road trip between Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires (2.000 km) is seen as of a somewhat "exotic and adventurous" trip.
 
Re Rivalry between Argentina and Brazil, France and Germany, Britain and Germany had much mor intense and bloody rivalries!
With more stable governments in place now, would it work today?
 
Re Rivalry between Argentina and Brazil, France and Germany, Britain and Germany had much mor intense and bloody rivalries!
With more stable governments in place now, would it work today?

Today there is Mercosur, that works somewhat similary to NAFTA (a free trade area) and Comunidad Andina....there are plans for the integration of those blocs in a giant common market area, but lack of decent physical integration between southern SA countries (Brazil, Argentina, Chile etc...) and northern SA countries (Peru, Equador, Venezuela etc...) and lack of major economic exchanges between those two parts of the continent are still an obstacle to a real SA Common Market today.
 
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