Pucheta, Mauro (2014) The social dimension of Mercosur. Centre for European Law and Legal Studies Online Papers, 3 (5). pp. 1-27. (KAR id:99601)
PDF
Author's Accepted Manuscript
Language: English
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
|
|
Download this file (PDF/1MB) |
Preview |
Request a format suitable for use with assistive technology e.g. a screenreader |
Abstract
The Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR in Spanish) is one of the most important trade blocs around the world - it is the third largest integrated market after the EU and NAFTA, which is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. It was set up in 1991 with the principal aim to establish free movement of goods, capital, services and people among its Member States. Its ultimate purpose has been and still is to create a Common Market. It should be pointed out that MERCOSUR was created in a context where neo-liberalism prevailed. Therefore, its objectives and methods were pervaded with an economic rationale that shaped the way MERCOSUR has addressed the social issues. This paper argues that there were two main reasons for creating the MERCOSUR social dimension in spite of these origins: on the one hand, in spite of the minimal influence of the economic integration into the national legal orders due to its inter-governmental character, MERCOSUR Member States were aware of the need for a creation of a social dimension. On the other hand, crises and major political changes changed the perception of the integration process and underlined the necessity of a stronger social integration. Given this evolution, the paper argues that MERCOSUR?s social dimension has developed considerably, while much still remains to be done. However, the development of the social rules has an intrinsic limit, which is the inter-governmental feature of MERCOSUR. A major reform seems necessary in order to address efficiently the new social issues arisen in this context of crisis. This paper is organized as follows. It first explains the structure of MERCOSUR and its methodological approach as an intergovernmental organisation. I then analyse the social dimension of MERCOSUR, both its rationale and its structure. Furthermore, I study the social policies developed; I explore specifically the MERCOSUR Social Program, the Free Movement of Work rules, the Socio-Labour Declaration, and the redistribution mechanisms. Finally, I consider MERCOSUR's response to the different crises.
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Uncontrolled keywords: | Common Market; MERCOSUR |
Subjects: | K Law |
Divisions: | Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > Kent Law School |
Depositing User: | Sian Robertson |
Date Deposited: | 24 Jan 2023 09:29 UTC |
Last Modified: | 31 Mar 2023 10:51 UTC |
Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/99601 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
- Link to SensusAccess
- Export to:
- RefWorks
- EPrints3 XML
- BibTeX
- CSV
- Depositors only (login required):