For Argentina, Lula's return brings novelties. On the one hand, we can be sure that his government favors the south American trading block Mercosur (and will seek to regain its regional leadership). But as Lula himself has said, Brazil must also look further afield (attending to global environmental concerns — for example, relaunching the Mercosur-EU trade talks and, as reiterated on the night of his victory, improving ties with the United States). Brazil is quite different to when Lula won his first presidency. Brazil's global outlook (for itself and Mercosur) may cause discomfort in Argentina, which tends to view the world with diffidence. A new phase has begun. Brazil is quite different to when Lula won his first presidency. Its GDP is now three times ours, as are its exports, and it has attracted seven times more foreign investments than Argentina. Brazil has five times as many multinationals listed among the top 100 Latin American global firms (multilatinas) as Argentina.