But Mercosur, too, is essential to Latin America’s global economic integration, owing largely to its core country, Brazil, whose international connections and influence are unmatched in the region. If the Pacific Alliance’s creation reflects waning support for Brazil as Latin America’s leading voice in the international community, as seems likely, progress toward regional integration, as well as efforts to negotiate greater economic integration with Asia-Pacific countries (one of the Alliance’s core objectives), could be more difficult.