Ernesto Araújo, Chancellor of Brazil: "Bolsonaro will come to Argentina as soon as possible"

Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo has arrived in Buenos Aires to close the bilateral agenda that Jair Bolsonaro will hold in his first official visit to Argentina. Araújo will meet President Mauricio Macri and meet Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie and Secretary of Strategic Affairs Fulvio Pompeo. "We make a bet on Mercosur and its flexibility", Araújo said in an exclusive interview with Infobae. The Brazilian Foreign Minister said that the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur has not yet been signed by the resistance of France and considered as "hypothetical" the possibility of "the future". an American invasion of Venezuela to end the populist regime of Nicolás Maduro.

-What is the purpose of your visit to Buenos Aires?

– Follow all the work that we started in January, during the visit of President Mauricio Macri to Brasilia, which helped revive the bilateral relationship.

– During the Macri summit with President Jair Bolsonaro, the concept of "flexibilisation" of Mercosur was mentioned. In which case is this political decision made between the two leaders?

– It will be especially the future trade negotiations with third countries. We will follow with great importance what we are doing now: the European Union, Canada or Korea. And the idea is that members of Mercosur can do different things …

– Then, the idea of ​​being flexible is that each member of Mercosur can by itself conclude bilateral agreements with third countries, for example Brazil with the United States …?

– At the limit, something like that, but we must see the terms, so that it can be done without Mercosur ceasing to be a customs union.

– This means an addendum to Mercosur standards and their ratification by the parliaments of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay?

-No, it would not be necessary.

– And when is it discussed between the four Mercosur partners?

"It's a work that has already started, there are already some preliminary ideas, and I will surely discuss with Chancellor Jorge Faurie.

-May it be at the Mercosur meeting to be held in Santa Fe?

-May be. We must reach an agreement between the four partners. It must be something that does not harm the common project of Mercosur.

-We are close to an agreement between Mercosur and the European Union?

-Very close, the closest we have been since 2004. We are really in the last part of the negotiations.

– President Bolsonaro has questioned the attitude of France in the negotiations. In this sense, could we say that the obstacle is France to close this historic agreement between Mercosur and the European Union?

Yes Our feeling is that France is at the heart of the traditional position of agriculture in the European Union, which must be overcome to reach an agreement.

-Mauricio Macri goes to France and has a bilateral meeting with President Emmanuel Macron. In this meeting, it could happen that Macri finally convince Macron and that France is no longer an obstacle to the closure of the agreement between blocks …

-If you succeed, it would be ideal. Because France is the big hurdle to overcome.

– Does your visit also aim to prepare the arrival of President Bolsonaro in Buenos Aires?

-Yes, it can be taken like that. It is important to discuss between foreign ministers to prepare the agenda of the meeting.

-And President Bolsonaro's visit will take place before the Mercosur summit in July or perhaps in May?

– I have a proposal of dates, but I must first speak to Chancellor Faurie.

– (laughs) Let's see … Early at the latest, he will come to Argentina.

– How should the Mercosur and Grupo Lima react if Nicolás Maduro finally orders the arrest of the interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó?

-We hope this will not happen. We already talked about it a few weeks ago …

-What's happening, is that now Maduro has granted immunity to Guaidó, there is an escalation of the regime …

-Yes it's true. But there is also an increase in support for President Guaidó. It shows in the streets. It should be noted that the Lima group is a strong support group for the democratic transition, so any act of retreat in this march would mean a very harsh condemnation of the Lima group.

-But if Maduro makes Guaidó a prisoner, would Brazil support a military invasion?

No We always think that the best thing is the diplomatic way. There is a gradual isolation work done by Maduro and it is a brick-by-brick construction.

– In other words, does Brazil exclude the military means of promoting the democratic transition in Venezuela?

-Exact. Our work is political. That's why Grupo Lima is.

-What should the regional diplomacy do if the United States opted for military means to put an end to the Maduro regime?

-I think it's very hypothetical. The important thing is that there is a common goal, namely the democratic transition.