This monograph is intended to analyze how the regional integration process that
generated the creation of Mercosur took place, and to expose the importance that
this bloc has within the Brazilian Foreign Policy. For that, the precedents of
integration, the historical origin of the bloc, the institutional development process
and the characterization of the different phases of the bloc were exposed. The
general objective of this work is to analyze the commercial exchanges between
Brazil and the other Mercosur members, from the Regional Integration process,
contemporary characteristic of the International System. This work is also
concerned with analyzing trade flows between Brazil and other Mercosur member
states, collecting trade data through the main foreign trade databases. Regarding
methodology, this work stands out for its qualitative and also quantitative method,
since it uses official websites, mostly within the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade
and Services (MDIC) environment. In synthetics, the reports were taken from the
ministry's main page, and the data, from the ComexStat platform, also made
available by the MDIC. Among the results found, one can observe the leadership
role that Brazil plays in the region, whether in the political or commercial sphere.
Brazil is the great commercial partner of all member states, and responsible for
absorbing most of the real estate in the region. Likewise, in the political sphere it
is also a protagonist, most of the time dictating, together with Argentina, the pace
of institutional development in the bloc.
