"To change Mercosur, you need to join first"
El Universal, Venezuela
"To change Mercosur, you need to join first"
25 June 2007
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has to enter the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) as a full member first, before starting to make reforms, as he has hinted he intends to do, said Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim in an interview daily newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo published on Sunday.
"Anyone willing to join a club accepts the rules first, and then (if he is accepted, and if he has some objections) he tries to change them."
The Brazilian diplomat, however, clarified that Venezuela’s membership "is as good for Mercosur as for Venezuela," Efe reported.
The Venezuelan government started the process to join Mercosur in 2006. Venezuela is presently an associate member, with a voice and without vote in the major South American bloc.
Venezuelan full membership requires endorsement by the parliaments of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Brazil and Paraguay are still to okay Caracas’ entry.
In Brazil, the protocol on Venezuelan adhesion is assessed by a joint committee (Senate and Chamber of Deputies) on Mercosur matters before discussion at the plenary session of both chambers.
The process is likely to be delayed, following Chávez recent offenses against the Senate, which he branded as "a parrot that repeats anything Washington says."
Chávez’ remarks came following a resolution of the Brazilian Senate asking the Venezuelan ruler to reconsider his decision not to renew the broadcast license for Caracas-based private television station RCTV.
Last week, in an interview with Efe, Chávez said he "is not desperate" to join Mercosur.
