Mercosur urges regional economic aid

Presidents of Mercosur's four member states--Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay--Monday for a two-day summit and sought ways to further integrate their economies into a regional powerhouse.

Uruguay has in the last week pushed to add Mexico, Latin America's second-largest economy after Brazil, to the group. Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez said his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon was "very interested" in joining, although the idea is still in initial stages. Mercosur approved Venezuela as a future member more than two years ago.

One of the bloc's key tasks will be ensuring regional food and energy supplies, which have come under stress as Argentina and Brazil grow, Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said.

Both nations are among the world's top producers of soy, grains and beef. But they are competing for new energy sources, and farm strikes over tax hikes in Argentina have interrupted the food supply there.

"Mercosur is a regional group that is powerful in the elaboration and exportation of food and energy," Taiana said. "It's a good moment to reinforce our will to work to see how we can position Mercosur more clearly."

Taiana blamed the food crisis on farm subsidies in developed countries and policies of world financial institutions that he said discourage subsistence farming.

According to the U.N., food production must increase 50 percent by 2030 to keep up with world demand. Mercosur issued a statement Monday insisting that developed countries slash subsidies to allow progress on the so-called Doha Development Round of talks, which aim to reduce trade barriers worldwide.

The summit is centered on boosting regional integration, financing infrastructure projects and extending credits to small business that are unable to get regular bank loans.

"We're at a turning point in the construction of our common market that will propel us beyond merely a commerce idea," Argentine Commerce Minister Alfredo Chiaradia said in a report on the bloc's progress in the last six months.