While Brazilian Senators Debate,

Venezuela is on the Brink of Being

Confirmed as Mercosur’s Fifth

Member

Lula’s Persistent Cause

On July 4, 2006, representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay met in Caracas to sign the protocol for the entrance of Venezuela into the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). After two and a half years, the protocol was approved by the legislative bodies of Argentina and Uruguay, and as of now it may be only days away from being ratified by the continent’s economic megalith, Brazil. Already, Brazil’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved Caracas’ long-running attempt to achieve full membership in Mercosur- the common market of the Southern Cone.

On December 17, 2008 the plenary of the House of Representatives in Brasilia approved “Legislative Decree 387/07,” which summarized the protocol for the entrance of Venezuela into Mercosur. Just a few days ago, on October, 29, the Committee for International Relations and National Defense of the Brazilian Senate voted in favor of the entrance of Venezuela into the South American Southern Cone economic bloc, which means that the matter will now await the plenary vote of the Senate. Although Paraguay postponed its congressional vote until 2010, (after the debate in Brazil is over), it is expected that Asunción will follow Brazil’s lead. Thus, the entry of Venezuela into Mercosur may well lie in the hands of Brazilian senators, and despite President Lula’s support, its approval will be no easy task.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Fellow Thomaz Alvares de Azevedo e Almeida

Monday, November 16, 2009 | Research Memorandum 09.2