Off the wire
• Phelps eases into first practice session in Rio  • Nothing better than playing against Lin Dan in Rio, said Austria's shuttler  • Russian gas transit through Ukraine up 21 pct in January-July  • Brazilian bankruptcy filings up 23 pct in seven months  • Andy Murray has no medical concerns ahead of Games  • UN calls for end to destruction of hospitals in Syria  • Chinese envoy calls for protecting children from extremist ideology  • UN food agency scales up aid to Lake Chad Basin  • Canadian stocks fall hard as energy weighs heavy  • Immigration, tourism driving boom in new car sales in New Zealand  
You are here: 　 Home

Venezuela says no vacancy in Mercosur leadership

Xinhua, August 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Venezuela on Tuesday rejected the allegation that there is a vacancy in the leadership of the five-member Southern Common Market (Mercosur) trade bloc, made by its members Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

The controversy emerges within the trade block over its leadership as Brazil and Paraguay objected to Venezuela's succession to the rotating presidency.

"Venezuela categorically rejects the invention of a fraudulent idea ... expressed in the false assumption that there is a vacancy in the pro-tempore presidency, which we have been legally fulfilling since July 29," Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

Uruguay's presidency of the bloc expired at the end of July and Venezuela was next in line to fill Mercosur's rotating six-month presidency.

However, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay have refused to acknowledge the succession, maintaining that the seat remains vacant. Paraguay cited alleged human rights violations in Venezuela.

The incident underscores the political rift in South America as the three Mercosur members ruled by right-of-center governments are ideologically opposed to Venezuela's ruling socialist party.

Venezuela "denounces the machinations of the extreme right" in South America, the ministry said, adding Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay "comprised a new Triple Alliance" that was working against it.

The alliance is willing to destroy Mercosur in the process, the ministry warned, while expressing its willingness to continue to work to strengthen the bloc to further regional integration. Endit