Venezuela Blocked From Assuming Presidency of Mercosur

[Bacchus4.0]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuela-blocked-from-assuming-presidency-of-mercosur-1473877554

BRASÍLIA—Leading members of South America’s trade bloc Mercosur refused to allow Venezuela to take its turn as the group’s rotating leader and threatened to expel it from the organization over its failure to comply with trade and human rights bylaws.

Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay agreed late Tuesday to give the Venezuelan government a Dec. 1 deadline to meet Mercosur’s rules to qualify for the post. Meanwhile, the presidency will be filled by an interim team from the other member states, the four countries said in a statement.

The debate over Venezuela´s role in the trade bloc comes amid rising social and political turmoil in the oil-rich nation, while a decline in global commodity prices is pushing Mercosur members to consider forging new ties with other trade blocs. These efforts include reviving free-trade talks with the European Union, which evaluates the human rights credentials of potential partners.



“The European Union has condemned Venezuela for human rights violations. So (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro isn’t exactly the best face for Mercosur to have right now,” said Roberto Moritan, a former deputy foreign minister in Argentina.

[Marksman_91]

1. Thank God the MERCOSUR founding nations still have reasonable leadership

Any reasonable person would recognize at this point that the Ven state is run by a human-rights violating band of drug dealers