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Member states of Mercosur

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Dark green: full member states
Blue: acceding future members
Red: suspended members

Currently, Mercosur is composed of five full members (one of which is suspended), five associated countries and two observer countries:[1][2][3]

Member states

Suspended members

  •  Venezuela Associate state (2004),[5] Protocol of Accession (2006),[6] Full Member (2012),[6] suspended (2016)[7]

Associate states

Observer states

Guyana and Suriname signed framework agreements with Mercosur in July 2013 to become associate states.[10][11][12][13]

Venezuela

Venezuela applied for membership, but its entry has not been ratified by Paraguay, although it was ratified by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.[14] However, in June 2012 Paraguay was suspended from Mercosur for an alleged coup d'état and the violation of the Democratic Clause of Mercosur, so Venezuela's admission, already approved by the remaining members, became effective on July 31.[6] Venezuela is considered a key member of the Mercosur due to its energy resources, including natural gas and oil. Venezuela is also an important economic market for Brazil because of a favorable balance of trade.[15][16]

Ratification process in Brazil

The process was approved by the Brazilian Government, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. In May 2007, the Brazilian Senate asked Venezuela to reconsider the non-renewal of RCTV's license, an oppositionist television network. Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez responded by accusing the Brazilian Congress of being subservient to interests of the United States.[17] The leader of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party in the Senate, senator Arthur Virgílio, stated that the party would try to prevent Venezuela's entry in Mercosur.[18] On December 18, 2008, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved by 265 votes, 61 against and 6 abstentions, Venezuela's bid for membership in Mercosur.[19] The bill was forwarded to the Brazilian Senate, where it was still pending as of 31 May 2009, though Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he expected final approval by September.[20] However, some members of the Senate condemned Hugo Chávez's alleged attacks on freedom of the press and expression in Venezuela. One senator Flexa Ribeiro said, "The Brazilian Senate needs to send a strong message in support of the reestablishment of full democracy in Venezuela."[21] The decision could further delay Venezuela's entry into Mercosur.

In September 2009 President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that he was confident the Senate would approve the entry of Venezuela and added that "There is no Senate opposition to the entry of Venezuela into Mercosur. What exists is a natural process of discussion by the senators who want to evaluate the pros and cons of the enlargement of Mercosur with Venezuela's entry." According to Lula, the expansion of the organisation will especially benefit the northern states of Brazil. The ambassador of Brazil in Caracas, Antonio Simões was called to Brasília to meet with 81 senators and explain the benefits of Venezuela's entry into Mercosur for Brazil.[22]

On 15 December 2009, the Brazilian Senate ratified Venezuela's entry into Mercosur.[23]

Ratification process in Paraguay

The government of Paraguay supports Venezuela's entry into Mercosur but this process is complicated by opposition from the right-wing Colorado Party. The party had ruled Paraguay for 61 years until 2008 and still controls Paraguay's Upper House whose support is needed to pass the bill.[24] On March 4, 2009, the External Relations Commission of the Paraguayan Chamber of Senators could not approve a recommendation for Venezuela's bid for membership in Mercosur.[25] The bill was later withdrawn by the Paraguayan government after it feared defeat in the Congress, after several legislators questioned Hugo Chávez's "commitment to democracy" following the closure of several media outlets in Venezuela.[26] President Lugo called on Congress to avoid “prejudices” and not limit a country of millions of souls “to a single name”, after a June 2010 political agreement between the President's coalition and the Colorado party that renewed speakers at the Senate and the Lower House.[27]

The Paraguayan Senate's block on Venezuela's membership was circumvented in June 2012, when the country was suspended from Mercosur for an alleged coup d'état and the violation of the Democratic Clause of Mercosur, so the admission of Venezuela (already approved by the other legislatures of Mercosur) became effective in July 2012.[6]

Venezuela's membership in dispute

On August 2016, the presidents of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, while present in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games, met to discuss suspending Venezuela from Mercosur. The three countries are in doubt about whether Venezuela is complying with the union's requirements for full membership, citing Human Rights violations among other issues.[28] Moreover, Venezuela was rejected from assuming the presidency of Mercosur by those three countries. Venezuela had four years to fully adapt to the trade bloc regulations and failed to do so, with the nation being suspended from Mercosur on 1 December 2016.[7]

Later developments

On 5 August 2017, the foreign ministers of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil affirmed that Venezuela's membership of Mercosur is suspended indefinitely in response to the "rupture of the democratic order" in that country following the 30 July 2017 Constituent Assembly elections. The bloc by-laws have no provision for expulsion. However, trade and migration policies stay without changes in order to avoid aggravating the social crisis.[29] Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes said that Venezuela will remain suspended until the country "re-establishes democracy."[30]

In January 2019, the opposition-majority National Assembly declared incumbent Nicolás Maduro's 2018 reelection invalid, entering a presidential crisis.[31] During a July 2019 summit in Santa Fe, Argentina, the bloc called for "free, fair and transparent presidential elections, as soon as possible" in Venezuela. The presidents of the four member countries signed a statement expressing concern "for the grave crisis that Venezuela is going through, which is seriously affecting the humanitarian situation and human rights."[32]

Accession applications

Bolivia and Ecuador have expressed interest to join the bloc. However, their membership in the Andean Community of Nations complicates such attempts.[33] Peru's president Humala said in 2011 that Peru may be interested in joining in the future, but that the country was not yet ready to start the process due to economic reasons.[34]

Bolivia

Bolivia's full participation in the Mercosur bloc has been under negotiation since June 2011.[6] In December 2012, Bolivia signed an accession protocol to become a full member.[35] Uruguay ratified the agreement in June 2014. In September 2014 Argentina approved Bolivia's entry, leaving only Brazil and Paraguay left to approve the agreement. Due to objections from Paraguay that the protocol was agreed to while it was under suspension from the organization, an amended protocol was agreed to in 2015.[36][37][38]

Ecuador

Ecuador started negotiations to join Mercosur in May 2013.[39]

References

  1. ^ "Se formaliza adhesión de Venezuela al Mercosur". Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "Os venezuelanos estão chegando". Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  3. ^ "Presidentes dos países do Mercosul se reúnem para discutir integração do bloco". Governo do Brasil. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e About Mercosur
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Argentina National Communications Commission (CNC) official webpage". Archived from the original on 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  6. ^ a b c d e Venezuela officially welcomed into Mercosur trade bloc during ceremony in Brazil (31 July 2012) Reuters. Retrieved on 1 August 2012
  7. ^ a b "Mercosur suspends Venezuela for failure to follow rules". Associated Press. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  8. ^ http://www.nasdaq.com/article/bolivia-formalizes-request-for-full-mercosur-membership-20121207-00577
  9. ^ a b c d e f Mercosur member countries Archived 2013-01-18 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Guyana-Mercosur Framework Agreement" (PDF). Mercosur. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  11. ^ "Suriname-Mercosur Framework Agreement" (PDF). Mercosur. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  12. ^ "Quienes Somos". Mercosur. Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  13. ^ "Tratados, protocolos e acordos firmados após julho de 2012". Mercosur. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  14. ^ Bragon, Ranier; Andreza Matais (2007-09-22), "A Chávez, governo prevê aprovação neste ano", Folha de S.Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo: Folha da Manhã S.A., p. A10
  15. ^ Venezuela and Mercosur
  16. ^ Brazil - balance of trade - Venezuela Archived 2005-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Bragon, Ranier; Andreza Matais (September 22, 2007), "Congresso brasileiro reage a fala de Chávez", Folha de S.Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo: Folha da Manhã S.A., p. A10
  18. ^ Brazil Senate leader against Venezuela in Mercosur. Stabroek News. March 6, 2009.
  19. ^ Brazilian Congress puts Venezuela inches closer to Mercosur. MercoPress. December 18, 2008. Retrieved on 22 December 2008.
  20. ^ "Brazilian President is confident Venezuela joins Mercosur, Noticias Financieras, 31 May 2009.
  21. ^ Brazilian Senate condemns Venezuela further delaying its Mercosur bid. MercoPress. September 4, 2009.
  22. ^ https://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/article/ALeqM5iZm80LhIfqoBwtOVSl72lLftWqtQ
  23. ^ BBC in Portuguese
  24. ^ http://el-nacional.com/www/site/p_contenido.php?q=nodo/71028/Econom%C3%ADa/Paraguay-no-aprueba-ingreso-de-Venezuela-al-Mercosur Archived 2012-07-08 at archive.today
  25. ^ Paraguayan Chamber of Senators does not approve first attempt to grant Venezuela membership in Mercosur El Universal. Retrieved on 4 March 2009.
  26. ^ Paraguayan government withdraws bill for Venezuela's Mercosur incorporation. MercoPress. 14 August 2009.
  27. ^ Lugo calls Congress to vote for Venezuela’s Mercosur incorporation (June 28th 2010) http://en.mercopress.com Retrieved on 17 July 2010
  28. ^ "Venezuela's Mercosur Membership is in Peril". Stratfor. August 8, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  29. ^ Silvio Cascione (August 5, 2017). "Mercosur suspends Venezuela, urges immediate transition". Reuters. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  30. ^ "Mercosur suspends Venezuela for "rupture of the democratic order"". brazil.gov.br. 6 August 2017.
  31. ^ "¿Venezuela tiene un presidente interino?". Semana. January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  32. ^ "South American bloc calls for Venezuela elections". France 24. Santa Fe, Argentina. Agence France-Presse. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  33. ^ http://en.mercopress.com/2006/12/11/bolivia-and-ecuador-targeting-mercosur
  34. ^ http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/06/14/Humala-Peru-not-ready-for-Mercosur/UPI-91961308089963/
  35. ^ http://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/bridges/news/bolivia-advances-in-efforts-to-become-full-member-of-mercosur
  36. ^ "Bolivia a step closer to full membership in Mercosur". EFE. 2015-07-18. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  37. ^ "Bolivia to join Mercosur as full member - Rousseff". Reuters. 2015-07-17. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  38. ^ "Comunicado Conjunto das Presidentas e dos Presidentes dos Estados Partes do MERCOSUL – Brasília, 17 de julho de 2015". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil. 2015-07-18. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  39. ^ http://www.planificacion.gob.ec/ecuador-notificara-inicio-de-negociaciones-para-adhesion-a-mercosur/
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