On January 22, 2023, Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva and Alberto Fernández—the presidents of Brazil and Argentina—announced they would start preparations for a common currency: the sur. The stated goal for these presidents in creating a common currency is to reduce reliance on the dollar and foster regional integration. Economists across the world wasted no time in lambasting the proposal—American economist Paul Krugman called it a “terrible idea,” not meeting any of the requirements of an optimum currency area, Brazilian-Argentine economist Fabio Giambiagi described it as a “waste of time,” and Egyptian-American economist Mohammad A. El-Erian explained how neither Argentina nor Brazil has the “initial conditions to make this succeed and attract others.” Along these lines, Larry Summers also deemed the sur highly problematic while others referred to the idea as “insane, irrelevant, and unfeasible.” The reproach was not limited to the realm of economists either. Fábio Ostermann, a Brazilian congressman from Rio Grande do Sul, likened the venture to “opening a joint bank account with that deadbeat friend who owes everyone money and is unemployed.”
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