A política externa do Paraguai e seus interesses no Mercosul e no Focem

Abstract

In the context of asymmetries in Mercosur, the present work analyzes the foreign policy of Paraguay, highlighting its main interests in the construction of this institution and of Focem. As the country with the least economic power in the bloc and the largest recipient of Focem resources, the objective of this article is to highlight paraguayan interests through the analysis of projects completed by the country, financed by the Fund between 2006 and 2020. The research is divided into four parts: describing the construction of Mercosur and FOCEM; explaining Paraguay's pendular foreign policy; analyzing Paraguay in the Southern Cone and foreign integration policy; and evaluating the projects completed by Paraguay at FOCEM. The methodology of the work has a qualitative analysis through the revision of the specialized bibliographic on the theme, official documents, and a descriptive quantitative analysis regarding the projects. The preliminary results indicate that the country is looking for alternative means of financing for the development of its infrastructure, considering that of the thirteen completed projects, eight are on the Structural Convergence axis. Although Focem has a limited scope of funding, its contributions to Paraguay have been positive concerning the country's infrastructure. Paraguay's economic limitations also contribute to the defense of the expansion of the Fund and maintenance in dealing with asymmetries.