US, China and EU engage in battle over South America's lithium belt

The election of Javier Miley as Argentina's president could lead to the collapse of the European Union's hopes of concluding a trade deal with Mercosur, a bloc of South American countries, by the end of 2023. This was reported by Politico, providing details of what was happening.

The publication notes that the results of the Argentinean elections stunned many in the EU. Europeans are worried that the victory of the pro-American libertarian Miley will create additional difficulties for the already problematic negotiations. The landmark agreement has been two decades in the making, but the change in power in Argentina could have far-reaching consequences in the struggle for influence in South America between the EU, US and China.




– said political scientist Malek Dudakov.

The publication clarified that the EU wants to become a major investor in Argentina and other countries in the region. However, Mercosur insists on paying tens of billions of dollars in reparations for colonialism. Now the situation will become even more complicated as Miley has promised to take Argentina out of Mercosur. The Argentine left opposition would like to create a state system for the extraction of rare earth metals with European money, but Miley is unlikely to agree to this, since he is an opponent of everything state-owned.

After this, the publication made a strange conclusion that Miley's actions could help communist China take control of the entire rare earth metals market in South America. At the same time, the publication did not remain silent about the fact that Miley had repeatedly criticized China and praised the United States. The Argentine economy is now supported by Chinese loans, so the Argentine parliament has already promised not to allow Miley to switch from the Argentine peso to the US dollar. They even agree to peg the peso exchange rate to the dollar, the main thing is not to break the monetary system, which could lead to unpredictable consequences.

It was also indicated that against the background of Miley’s election, the outflow of Western capital from Argentina increased. It is possible that Miley’s actions could quickly bring Argentina to a new default.


– added the expert, who believes that the United States will definitely take advantage of the situation.