Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Brazilian President Henrique Cardoso have agreed on concrete measures that would lead to the establishment of a Latin American free trade zone.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Brazilian President Henrique Cardoso have agreed on concrete measures that would lead to the establishment of a Latin American free trade zone. Their stated objective is to create an economic bloc that could counterbalance U.S. economic power in the region. Because the grand vision of regional economic integration is practically unattainable, given the current circumstances in Latin America, its only real objective is to serve the domestic political objectives of its populist and nationalist creators (STRATFOR's Global Intelligence Update, May 19, 1999).
