The leaders of Mercosur, the South American trade alliance, are gathering for their second summit this year in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil’s President Lula da Silva had high hopes of finalizing a set of deals, but the most important of them, a long-awaited free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, has been delayed once again.

CGTN’s Lucrecia Franco spoke to Marcos Azambuja, former Deputy Foreign Minister and former Ambassador to Argentina and France about the present and the future of the bloc.