Brazil, Argentina seek closer ties with Mexico

Brazil's President Michel Temer and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri agreed Tuesday here to deepen relations with Mexico and with the Pacific Alliance in general.

After a meeting with ministers from both countries, Macri told a press conference that he had spoken with Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto on the regional and international context.

"There are various countries interested in deepening relations with us, beginning in the region, with the Pacific Alliance. This opens an important opportunity, including with Mexico," he said.

Macri alluded, without referring explicitly to the U.S., that the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump opened new possibilities of cooperation with Mexico.

"Clearly, this change of scenario means that Mexico is turning and looking South," continued the leader. "Yesterday, I spoke with President Pena Nieto...to express that we are open to dialogue, we want to cooperate."

Brazil's Temer also highlighted his desire to see better regional integration with Mexico.

"We discussed the topic of an ever larger Latin American integration with Mexico, including to see closer ties between Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance," he outlined.

Mercosur is known as a full customs union and a trade bloc in Latin America with Brazil and Argentina both its member countries, while the Pacific Alliance, also a Latin American trade bloc, links Mexico and other three countries which all border the Pacific Ocean.

The possibility of Mexico seeking better economic ties with South America's two leading economies has emerged amid tensions with the Trump administration, especially concerning the border wall and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Temer and Macri also said the new international context could create more favorable conditions for free-trade negotiations between Mercosur and the European Union. Endi