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]
Currently, Mercosur is composed of five full members (one of which is suspended), five associated countries and two observer countries: [1] [2] [3]
Guyana and Suriname signed framework agreements with Mercosur in July 2013 to become associate states. [12] [13] [14] [15]
Venezuela applied for membership, but its entry has not been ratified by Paraguay, although it was ratified by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. [16] 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. [17] [18]
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. [19] 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. [20] 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. [21] 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. [22] 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." [23] 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. [24]
On 15 December 2009, the Brazilian Senate ratified Venezuela's entry into Mercosur. [25]
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. [26] 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. [27] 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. [28] 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. [29]
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]
In 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. [30] 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]
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. [31] Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes said that Venezuela will remain suspended until the country "re-establishes democracy." [32]
In January 2019, the opposition-majority National Assembly declared incumbent Nicolás Maduro's 2018 reelection invalid, entering a presidential crisis. [33] 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." [34]
Bolivia and Ecuador have expressed interest to join the bloc. However, their membership in the Andean Community of Nations complicates such attempts. [35] 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. [36]
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. [37] 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. [38] [39] [40] Brazil ratified the agreement in December 2023, the final Mercosur member to do so, leaving only Bolivia's internal ratification process to be completed before it bcomes a full member. [9]
Ecuador started negotiations to join Mercosur in May 2013. [41]
The Andean Community is a free trade area with the objective of creating a customs union comprising the South American countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact until 1996 and came into existence when the Cartagena Agreement was signed in 1969. Its headquarters are in Lima, Peru.
The Union of South American Nations (USAN), sometimes also referred to as the South American Union, abbreviated in Spanish as UNASUR and in Portuguese as UNASUL, is an intergovernmental regional organization set up by Hugo Chavez to counteract the influence of the United States in the region. It once comprised twelve South American countries; as of 2019, most have withdrawn.
ALBA or ALBA–TCP, formally the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America or the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty, is an intergovernmental organization based on the idea of political and economic integration of Latin American and Caribbean countries.
The Bank of the South or BancoSur is a monetary fund and lending organization established on 26 September 2009 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela with promises of initial capital of US$20 billion. Argentina, Venezuela, and Brazil were to have each pledged $4 billion, and Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay and Bolivia were to have contributed smaller amounts. The bank intended to lend money to nations in the Americas to construct social programs and infrastructure. Documents establishing the bank as an entity were signed in 2007, and the agreement between the countries was finalized in 2009, but as of 2016, the bank had not been capitalized.
The Mercosur Parliament, known also as Parlasur, or Parlasul, is the parliamentary institution of the Mercosur trade bloc. It is composed of 81 MPs, 18 from each member states of the bloc – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – and 9 from applying member Venezuela. Associate members – Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru – may also hold seats in the Parliament, but with no voting powers.
The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty, officially the Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations, was signed on May 23, 2008 during the extraordinary summit of heads of state and government of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) held in Brasília, Brazil. It officially established the Union of South American Nations, an intergovernmental continental union of all twelve South American nations.
Portuguese is the third most spoken language of the Americas, and the second most spoken language in South America. It is the sole official language of Brazil and is a co-official language of several regional organizations, notably Mercosul, UNASUL, ACTO, CELAC, the Rio Group, and ALADI.
There are four active member states of the Union of South American Nations after six member states suspended their participation in the organization in April 2018, while Ecuador and Uruguay announced their withdrawals in March 2019 and March 2020 respectively.
Brazil–Paraguay relations are foreign relations between Brazil and Paraguay.
The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuela is a full member but has been suspended since 1 December 2016. Associate countries are Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname.
The Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries(G.S.T.P) is a preferential trade agreement, currently encompassing 42 members (“participants”), signed on 13 April 1988 with the aim of increasing trade between developing countries. It was negotiated within the framework of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Agreement entered into force on 19 April 1989 and was notified to the then General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), predecessor of the World Trade Organization (WTO), on 25 September 1989. The 42 members of GSTP include 7 LDCs as well.
The integration of Latin America has a history going back to Spanish American and Brazilian independence, when there was discussion of creating a regional state or confederation of Latin American nations to protect the area's newly won autonomy. After several projects failed, the issue was not taken up again until the late 19th century, but now centered on the issue of international trade and with a sense of pan-Americanism, owing to the United States of America taking a leading role in the project. The idea of granting these organizations a primarily political purpose did not become prominent again until the post-World War II period, which saw both the start of the Cold War and a climate of international cooperation that led to the creation of institutions such as the United Nations. It would not be until the mid-20th century that uniquely Latin American organizations were created.
The Pacific Alliance is a Latin American trade bloc, formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which all border the Pacific Ocean. The alliance was formed with the express purpose of improving regional integration and moving toward complete freedom in the movement of goods, services, capital and people between the four member states. Together, these four countries have a combined population of more than 230 million people and make up roughly 35 percent of Latin American GDP.
Argentina has strong cultural and historical links to the European Union (EU) and the EU is Argentina's biggest investor.
Citizenship of the Mercosur is granted to eligible citizens of the Southern Common Market member states. It was approved in 2010 through the Citizenship Statute and should be fully implemented by the member countries in 2021, when the program will be transformed in an international treaty incorporated into the national legal system of the countries, under the concept of "Mercosur Citizen".
Vehicle registration plates of the Mercosur are a system under implementation in the Mercosur member states, regional bloc and intergovernmental organization founded in 1991.
The Forum for the Progress and Integration of South America is an initiative by Sebastián Piñera and Iván Duque, for the creation of an integration body to replace the Union of South American Nations.
Paraguay–Venezuela relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Paraguay and Venezuela.
The President pro tempore of Mercosur (PPT) is the highest legal-political representative pro tempore of the Southern Common Market (Mercosul). The office is held for a six-month period by a head of State of one of the State members. It is alternated, in alphabetical order, among the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
