For my thesis topic, I chose the Southern Common Market, the Mercosur, since the economic structure of the LAC region and their negotiations with the European Union, which have been ongoing for more than 20 years, have always filled me with curiosity. The Spanish and Portuguese populated the Latin American and Caribbean region after the European conquistadors discovered the continent rich in natural resources in the 15th century. The purpose of the Mercosur treaty was to create a free trade area where trade barriers would be eliminated to achieve a common market and global economic competitiveness. The roots of Mercosur's establishment come from Bolivarianism, a political ideology with the primary goal of creating an independent Latin American union. Mercosur currently has four members, which are also the founding states: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Being a customs union and moving towards a whole common market operation, there are no restrictions of any kind in the trade of goods between the members (apart from a few exceptions), which means huge discounts, especially for Paraguay and Uruguay. Regarding its relationship with the European Union, a unique situation can be observed since their negotiations on a free trade agreement have been ongoing for more than 20 years, and they still have not reached the end.