Consultation not Contestation : Brazilian civil society in EU-Mercosur Association Agreement negotiations

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore the role of Brazilian civil society in interregional trade between 2003 and 2020, with a focus on negotiations between the European Union and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). I draw on document analysis from Mercosur’s online archives and from interviews with actors engaged in trade at the time analyzed, supported by the Modes of Participation framework. This approach allowed for a uniquely critical perspective on Mercosur’s participatory structure. I aim to find out: who was represented in negotiations; what forms of participation were permitted; and who were the actors who pushed for the creation of participatory channels. My hypothesis is that, by establishing modes of participation, government elites have filtered out dissenting voices from channels which could potentially influence negotiations, while civil society representatives created participatory spaces in response to perceived limitations. Results show that societal dissent was contained first by a proliferation of channels and mechanisms for limited participation from 2003, and from 2016 onwards by limiting access to government officials and reports on negotiating rounds. Furthermore, it was found that contentious actors, excluded from negotiations, created their own spaces for participation, such as drafting collective statements and lobbying Brazilian congresspeople.