Brasil, Mercosul e a seguran？a regional

the main purpose of this article is to analyse the evolution of a hemispheric regime of security using two basic issues: the impact of mercosur in the regional geopolitical balance and the role of brazil as a key-actor in the establishment of this agenda for regional security. our hypothesis is that brazil, as much in the regional, as in the global dimension, has acted so as to counterbalance the united states hegemony, strengthening the correlation between the status of regional power and the calculus of international options.