Overview

 The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation

Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc
established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in
1994. Its full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Venezuela is a full member but has been suspended since 1 December 2016.
Associate countries are Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and
Suriname.
 Mercosur's purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods,
people, and currency. Since its foundation, Mercosur's functions have been
updated and amended many times; it currently confines itself to a customs
union, in which there is free intra-zone trade and a common trade policy
between member countries. In 2019, the Mercosur had generated a nominal
gross domestic product (GDP) of around 4.6 trillion US dollars, placing the
bloc as the 5th largest economy in the world.
History
 In the 19th century, the process of political emancipation in South America
accentuated the contrasts between the countries of the region. During this
period, important chapters in the history of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and
Uruguay occurred like the independence of the Republic of Uruguay, the
dispute between unitaries and federalists in Argentina and the Paraguayan
War that forged the historical context of formation of the La Plata nation-
states.
 In 1941, in the middle of the Second World War, Brazil and Argentina for the
first time tried to create a Customs Union between their economies.
However, this did not happen due to the countries' diplomatic differences in
relation to Axis policies, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. With the end of the
war, the need for interaction between nations became imminent and,
consequently, economic blocs formed. In Latin America, however, there was
no union that obtained satisfactory results.
Founding

 Mercosur was finally established in 1991 by the Treaty of

Asunción, based on the Buenos Aires Act, the Treaty of
Asunción defined rules and conditions for the creation of a
free trade zone among its four signatories. Likewise, it was
decided that all measures for the construction of the
common market should be completed by 31 December
1994 with the amendment of the Treaty of Ouro Preto.

First lifting headquarters of Mercosur in

Montevideo (2001)