Finance Minister Fernando Haddad (PT), in New York, where he is accompanying President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT), said it is necessary to close the Mercosur-EU trade agreement in 2023 because there are doubts about what could happen if the far-right candidate wins. Javier Miley in the elections in Argentina.
He added, “President Lula insists a lot on Europe that we conclude the agreement this year. I do not know what will happen to Mercosur if an agreement is not reached and we have a strange electoral result.” [na Argentina]Haddad announced during an event at Columbia University.
Lula, who serves as interim president of Mercosur until December, has expressed his intention to conclude the agreement in 2023, as have major EU leaders.
But Haddad, in his speech at Columbia University, explicitly avoided mentioning Milley, an ultra-liberal economist who has promised to break with Mercosur and stop negotiating with Brazil.
The far-right candidate is leading in opinion polls for the elections, ahead of Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who has previously held several meetings with Haddad.
