Political and economical turmoil will not stop Production Minister Francisco Cabrera’s visit to Brazil today, as an Argentine delegation travels to the neighbouring country in order to debate trade deals and billateral commerce.

Argentine exports to Brazil are posting their worst figures in a decade, data from March figures published by the neighbouring country showed, and trade between Mercosur trade bloc’s two largest economies favours Brazil overall with a US$1.1-billion dollar surplus.

Both exports and imports have contracted severely in the last few years, initially aided by Argentine limits on imports and then by Brazil’s massive economic recession, which experts say could end up being the worst in a century, affecting demand for Argentine industrial exports.

Cabrera will be joined by Interior Trade Secretary Miguel Braun, Industry Secretary Martín Etchegoyen and Foreign Trade Undersecretary Leila Nazer.

Among the Argentine delegation’s priorities will be speeding up the process for a Mercosur - European Union trade deal, with only weeks to go before both blocs exchange offers. The car deal between both countries, which expires in June, could also figure on the agenda.

Political angle

But although the visit is officially focused on economic issues, with Cabrera’s meeting with his counterpart Armando Monteiro as the centrepiece of the talks, the trip will also inevitable have a political angle.

Cabrera’s visit can be seen as a political signal to Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, as the later struggles with an impeachment process in Congress that analysts say is likely to put an early end to her term.

Rousseff is denouncing the opposition move as a coup and calling for Brazil to be suspended from Mercosur if her government is ousted, just as it happened with Paraguay when Fernando Lugo was ousted in a dubious 48-hour impeachment there.

But President Mauricio Macri’s administration has not come out in support of Rousseff so far, saying it is following the “institutional crisis” but refusing to speak out directly against the opposition’s move in Congress.