Mercosur nations meeting in Brazil

Mercosur nations meeting in Brazil Leaders from South America's Mercosur trade bloc start a two-day summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Thursday, where they will be dealing with economic policies likely to be impacted by the leftward political tendencies of several South American nations.
   Mercosur includes the economic powers Brazil and Argentina, as well as Uruguay, Paraguay, and as of last year, Venezuela. The economic group was started 16 years ago to improve economic integration between member nations and to promote free trade.
   Mercosur's influence goes beyond the member nations. Brazil Foreign Minister Celso Amorium told the news agency Agencia Estado 'Mercosur is becoming stronger every day, and more important to the world. Brazil could negotiate on its own with China, but together with Mercosur, it has more leverage.'
   Bolivia and Ecuador are expected to seek full membership at this year's summit, and some observers wonder if Mercosur will be taking on a larger role as a political forum.
   'Mercosur is no longer about trade, really,' said Riordan Roett, director of Western Hemisphere Studies at Johns Hopkins University in an interview with the Associated Press. 'The new joiners don't have much to trade; they are opposed to free trade it seems. The organization is more and more political and to some degree anti-American.'
   Brazil is still the largest economy in South America, however, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, considered to be an economic centrist, is expected to have a moderating influence on the summit. He has been able to maintain good relations with both the Bush administration and Venezuela's controversial President Hugo Chavez.