Brasilia, Sep 9 (Prensa Latina) President Dilma Rousseff said today she favors relations with Latin American nations, where 80 percent of Brazilian exports are destined.
"No one can minimize the importance of Latin America to Brazil, the largest country in the region, nor allow themselves the luxury of turning their back on the region," stressed Rousseff in statements to reporters at the Alvorada Palace, the official residence.
She noted that any attempt to disregard or diminish the role of this nation in the region is "recklessness."
The president highlighted that trade with Latin America, Asia and Africa had increased under her government and stressed that 80 percent of value-added manufactured exports go to Latin American territories.
"Reducing or minimizing this relationship will negatively influence the growth of domestic production and trade," she warned.
Defending the links with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), made up of her country, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), she denied that those links had any ideological basis.
Rousseff mentioned in this regard the opening of Chinese, Russian and Middle Eastern markets to Brazilian beef, along with the creation of the BRICS Development Bank (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), which will have initial capital of $100 billion.
Referring to the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, she said that the nations on the European continent need to agree on agricultural issues in order to take a seat at the negotiating table.
"Any issue of this kind takes time and anyone who does not take part in these discussions underestimates the difficulty," she noted.
Finally, Rousseff supported the appointment of former Minister of Agrarian Development, Miguel Rossetto, as new coordinator of her election campaign, saying he is a person with experience in this area who knows everything about electoral issues.
