Weekly Report - 5 August 2003

When the heads of government of Mercosur meet in Asunción on the sidelines of President Nicolás Duarte's inauguration on 15 August, the Big Two - Brazil and Argentina - will face the barely disguised irritation of their hosts over their failure to do anything to alleviate the 'asymmetries' within the trading bloc. They had promised to do so at their last summit, held in Asunción last June. 

Foreign minister José Antonio Moreno Rufinelli has flown down to Montevideo to enlist the support of the Uruguayan government to make a joint presentation to their bigger partners. They both want to make sure the 15 August meeting is not overshadowed by Lula da Silva, as the last one was.