Mercosur was set up in March 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay under the Treaty of Asuncion. The 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto gave the body a wider international status and formalised a customs union.
Brazil and Argentina are Mercosur's economic giants. Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru are associate members; they can join free-trade agreements but remain outside the bloc's customs union. Moves to include Chile as a full member were suspended after Santiago signed a free-trade deal with the US in 2002.
Argentine minister Ivan Heyn dies at Mercosur summit
BBC News - 18 hours ago
A senior Argentine official has been found dead at the Mercosur summit in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo. Undersecretary for foreign trade Ivan Heyn was found hanged in his hotel room, police said. He is thought to have taken his own life. .
