MERCOSUR Threatens Venezuela with Suspension

Member states Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay have accused Venezuela of failing to implement 300 MERCOSUR regulations.

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Quito, November 22, 2016 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela faces continued aggression from the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) as Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay have threatened their fellow member state with indefinite suspension effective December 2nd.

Referred to as the “Triple Alliance”, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay accused Venezuela of failing to ratify and implement 300 mandatory regulations of the regional bloc. Member state Uruguay abstained from the vote decided on Monday. 

“MERCOSUR’s four founding states agreed a couple of months ago to give Venezuela until December 2 to implement the agreements,” declared Uruguayan President Tabaré Vásquez in Brazil referring to a MERCOSUR gathering in September.

The South American head of state continued, “Venezuela will participate in the same way that Bolivia will, which [recently] requested membership, but not until they have internalized the agreements will they have a voice, a vote and we will continue with only the four MERCOSUR founding nations voting.” 

Likewise, Uruguay’s Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa further explained that Venezuela would no longer have a vote and cease to be a full member of the trade bloc. 

The same was voiced earlier by Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga who also informed that Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay will gather Tuesday in Montevideo to “analyze the situation” on Venezuela.

Venezuela was set to assume MERCOSUR’s Pro Tempore Presidency in July this year after Uruguay. However, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay have consistently worked to discredit Venezuela’s membership status and prevent its MERCOSUR presidency which rotates among all membership states. 

The offensive comes amidst a recent right-ward shift in the regional bloc that has seen the election of millionaire tycoon Mauricio Macri in Argentina last November as well as the ouster of Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff in a constitutionally dubious impeachment proceeding earlier this year. 

The Bolivarian government has repeatedly issued declarations denouncing Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay’s actions against Venezuela. 

Meanwhile, ALBA Social Movements modeled after the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) have convened solidarity actions for November 30 in defense of Venezuela’s MERCOSUR membership status. 

“We call on all the popular movements of America, to go out and mobilize in every one of our countries to repudiate MERCOSUR’s initiative to suspend Venezuela promoted by Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay which looks to isolate Venezuela and the government of democratically-elected President Nicolás Maduro,” reads the alliances official statement.