04/08/2008
President Chávez: ‘Venezuela is a party to Mercosur’

(Bolivarian News Agency, ABN) - As the Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital city, to meet with his Brazilian and Argentinean counterparts, he affirmed that Venezuela is Mercosur. “We feel we already are a member of Mercosur; it is a matter of time, the political and legislative times.”

The Venezuelan president explained that for Venezuela to formally join Mercosur, it is needed the approval by the Brazilian and Paraguayan parliaments. In this connection, “we can not meddle in domestic affairs of other countries,” he said.

Nevertheless, he clearly stated that there is political will specially “in Paraguay, now more than never after Fernando Lugo took office.”

“Feel that Venezuela is already a Mercosur member, that the Caribbean is already Mercosur: the Union of the South,” he said.

“What we have to do is talking, planning and making political and economic decisions to bring the region together – the Bank of the South, Petrosur, amongst others - and turn South America into a great food, energy, and financial power. We have all that is needed to do it. South America is plenty of potentialities, so let’s develop them,” he said.