Venezuela formally becomes full Mercosur member
Venezuela formally becomes full Mercosur member
8 December 2012
Agence France-Presse
BRASILAI, 8 DEC: Venezuela became a full member of Mercosur at a summit of the South American regional trading bloc while Bolivia took a first step toward joining.
Host country Brazil hailed Venezuela's entry yesterday, which marked the group's first enlargement since Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay founded it in 1991.
But Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez did not attend. The firebrand leftist leader appeared in public for the first time in three weeks yesterday as he returned home from Cuba after his latest cancer-related medical treatment.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff hailed the decision by Bolivia, a Mercosur associate member along with Ecuador, to take the first step toward full membership.
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