Spensy Pimentel
Reporter - Agência Brasil
Brasília - The alliance between Brazil and Argentina, together with the South American integration process as a whole, is not something that will disappear as a result of eventual political changes in the various countries of the region, nor will it be dissipated by disputes in different sectors of the economy, according to 78 year old Argentinean economist, Aldo Ferrer.
Ferrer came to Brasília last week to participate in the seminar, "The Contemporaneity of Celso Furtado's Thinking on Development," organized by the Brazilian Senate in partnership with the newly created Celso Furtado International Center for Development Policies.
Ferrer points out that the bloc needs to undergo revisions, because Argentina is experiencing a phase of full recovery of its industrial capacity, following the 2001-02 crisis, and cannot remain simply an exporter of agricultural commodities.
The Argentinean economist also referred to the need for South American countries to manage their own domestic problems as a prerequisite for the consolidation of regional integration.
In his view, there is no "outside threat" to this integration greater than the social inequalities that exist within the countries themselves. "Integration will help, but we cannot fool ourselves, since a major portion of the problems is national in nature," Ferrer says.
Translation: David Silberstein