[Octokiddie]

> The initial focus will be on how a new currency, which Brazil suggests calling the “sur” (south), could boost regional trade and reduce reliance on the US dollar, officials told the Financial Times. It would at first run in parallel with the Brazilian real and Argentine peso.

That last part is pretty important. Both countries have a history of severe inflation. Circulating a new currency alongside the old seems like a pretty baldfaced attempt at inflation without having to admit it. It beggars belief that either country would retire its national currency given the deflationary shock that would create.

[nocoiner]

Presumably this would be implemented through some sort of ERM/ECU-like mechanism during a transition period?

I’m generally in favor of the European project, and think the last 75+ years of peace (ex Ukraine) speak for itself. And I understand the intellectual underpinning of why the Euro is a vital component of that. But I also can’t shake the feeling that it’s a bad idea for the vast majority of countries to forfeit their financial sovereignty.

And in this case, this looks a lot to me like tying two rocks together and hoping that they float.

[matheusmoreira]

> It beggars belief that either country would retire its national currency given the deflationary shock that would create.

Believe it. Brazil has had more national currencies than I care to remember. If you search "Brazil" on HN, you'll find the top post is about the creation of the real and how the government had to essentially trick the population into believing that this time it wasn't going to turn into worthless paper.

There are other latin american countries that are even worse.