Brazil, Argentina to challenge dollar hegemony, come up with Latin American currency

The top leaders of both the countries agree that with the common currency, there would be a higher level of ease of financial and commercial transactions between the two countries.

New Delhi, Jan 25: Dollar hegemony is set to face yet another challenge, this time from Brazil and Argentina as the two countries are planning to introduce a common Latin American currency. The left-leaning President of Brazil is known for challenging the Western designs and their imperialist methods. This seems to be another trick under his hat to miff the US, the global Big Brother.

The insinuation for the common currency for the Latin American countries came from the article that the two leaders wrote. Published in the Argentinian newspaper 'Perfil', Brazilian President Lula Ignacio de Silva and his Argentinian counterpart Alberto Fernandez have admitted that the two nations are exploring options to create a common currency.

The article reveals that the common currency would be called 'Sur', which means 'South' in Spanish.

The two leaders agree that with the common currency, there would be a higher level of ease of financial and commercial transactions between the countries. This is another indication that not just one but several nations have started challenging the predominance of the US dollar in global trade and transactions. It is not just harming their national economies but, at times, creates financial emergencies.

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)

Although Hugo Chavez is no more, he was the one who had started advocating for a common currency for the Latin American nations to challenge the US dollar. Lula seems to be following him with the latest talks around the same. In partnership with Fernandez, he may have got his Sancho Panza.

The VII Summit of Heads of State of CELAC is an occasion where Lula is trying to mark his return in regional and international politics after nearly a decade. In the new tenure, the face of left politics in Latin America is trying to build a regional block to counter US interventions that are quite regular in the continent.

In the joint letter, the two leaders wrote: "Two brother nations meet again. Tomorrow, we will meet in Buenos Aires for the first presidential meeting between Brazil and Argentina in more than three years. Immediately after, the VII Celac Summit will take place, a forum that brings together the 33 countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region."

They, with the other regional leaders of Latin America, would be trying to re-launch the bilateral strategic alliance. Their efforts would also be around the reactivation of various spaces for cooperation and dialogue to address issues like hunger and poverty, health, education, sustainable development, climate change etc, among others.

Regional cooperation aside, with the common currency initiative, Lula is pushing forward on his poll promises where he had said that it was essential to have a common currency to foster greater economic interdependence in the region.