Economic and financial interactions between Brazil and Mexico: which degree of integration?

ABSTRACT IN SPANISH: En este documento se analizan las relaciones comerciales y financieras entre Brasil y México con la finalidad de evaluar su grado de integración. Se encontró que ambas países se han insertado exitosamente en la economía internacional, lo que se refleja en los elevados volúmenes de comercio exterior que realizan, la alta proporción de capitales externos que captan y el tamaño de sus mercados de capitales, así como en su grado de asociación con los principales países y centros financieros del mundo. No obstante, aun cuando la integración comercial y financiera binacional se ha incrementado notablemente desde la entrada en vigor de los Acuerdos de Complementación Económica en 2003 y del proceso de translatinización de las empresas de ambos países, sus transacciones comerciales y financieras recíprocas se ubican en reducidos niveles relativos, situación que podría cambiar notablemente en el marco de un posible acuerdo estratégico de integración económica. // ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH: This paper analyzes trade and financial transactions between Brazil and Mexico in order to evaluate the magnitude of their reciprocal integration. Our results suggest that both countries have successfully got inserted into the international economy, which can be observed in their high volumes of trade, in their receiving foreign direct investment and in the size of their capital markets, as well as in the magnitude of their association with the most important countries and financial centers throughout the world. However, even if their bi-national trade and financial integration has notably increased, especially after the economic cooperation agreements came into force in 2003 and due to the 'translatinization' of Brazilian and Mexican firms, the magnitude of their reciprocal trade and financial transactions remains at very low relative levels, a sitaution that may significantly change in the framework of a possible strategic agreement of economic integration between these two countries. Reprinted by permission of FLACSO-Mexico