How are relations with Mercosur?
We are convinced that Mercosur is the vehicle for fulfilling two strategic objectives: (1) acquire an instrument for stimulating the kind of sustained economic growth that will raise the standard of living of our people and (2) insure a successful role for Argentina in the global economy. But the consolidation of Mercosur should not be understood as an end in itself but rather as an open platform for regional cooperation and competition that will increase our power of negotiation with the other blocs. In our opinion, Mercosur is the key tool for increasing the well-being of our societies because effective regional economic integration will allow us to raise productivity and increase our global bargaining power. But this will not happen if integration is not real. This is why in the course of this new stage, national policy and regional objectives will converge more rapidly than in the past. This should occur within the context of stronger rules and institutions and greater transparency
