O Brasil e a integração na América do Sul: Iniciativas para o financiamento externo de curto prazo

The main argument of this paper is that initiatives for regional cooperation - particularly related to short-term external financing: reserve sharing and trade-related payments systems - are promising avenues for policy efforts, in face of an international financial situation marked by assymetries and challenges for developing countries. In the case of South America, the assessment is that the existing institutional framework should be used and further developed. Regarding Brazil and its leading role in the process, was identified a great potential but also a certain ambiguity in actions, suggesting a stronger commitment and an expanded regional coverage. The text is divided as follows: after the introduction, section 2 discusses the importance of these initiatives in the contemporary international financial environment. In section 3, a quick overview of the process of South American integration is presented, highlighting their key dilemmas and challenges. At a higher level of detail, section 4 deals with the initiatives for the short-term financing in the region. Finally, section 5 presents and discusses the general lines of Brazil's performance in each of these initiatives, followed by brief conclusions in section 6.