LatinNews Daily - 23 January 2023

* Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández have penned a joint article in the Argentine weekly Perfil saying that they have “decided to advance discussions regarding a common South American currency that can be used both for financial and commercial transactions, reducing operational costs and our external vulnerability”.  Argentina’s economy minister, Sergio Massa, also gave an interview with the UK's Financial Times (FT) in which he said that efforts are underway with Brazil to launch a common currency. The FT cited Massa and other Argentine officials as saying that the new currency, which other Latin American nations would be invited to join, would strengthen regional trade and reduce reliance on the US dollar. At least temporarily, it would exist alongside the Brazilian real and the Argentine peso, although Massa emphasised that the actual launch of a common currency is likely to take many years. Massa said that the topic will be discussed with the Brazilian delegation during the 23-24 January summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Buenos Aires, and that he expects “a decision to start studying the parameters needed for a common currency, which includes everything from fiscal issues to the size of the economy and the role of central banks”.

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