
The Paraguayan government declared “illegal” and “null and void” the inclusion of Venezuela as a full member of Mercosur which was agreed on Tuesday during the extraordinary meeting held in Brasilia with the absence of Paraguay.

Brazilian president DIlma Rousseff said that with the incorporation of Venezuela, Mercosur has become a global power in food and energy and becomes the fifth world economy with a GDP of 3.3tn dollars.

The US government said that Venezuela as any other country has the “sovereign right” to join regional organizations such as Mercosur. The statement from the US State Department comes on the day that Mercosur officially incorporated Venezuela as full member of the block.

After attending the Mercosur extraordinary meeting in Brasilia, President Cristina Fernández and her Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chávez, signed a cooperation agreement to develop a strategic energy plan between state oil companies YPF and PDVSA.

Venezuela signed on Tuesday an agreement to purchase 20 commercial aircraft from Brazil’s Embraer in an operation valued at 900 million dollars

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica and his peer Dilma Rousseff signed in Brasilia a bilateral agreement to promote the free circulation of goods and services and the strengthening of political and trade links between the two countries.

Argentine President Cristina Fernández said on Tuesday during a press conference held at the Mercosur extraordinary summit in Brasilia, that Venezuela’s entry to the bloc “strengthens the entire region” and creates a “new pole of power” at world level.

Following a full day of deliberations in Brasilia between Foreign Affairs ministers, the presidents from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, on Tuesday will formally receive Venezuela as the new full member of Mercosur, as was agreed at the regular mid year summit in Mendoza.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez announced he expected to sign an oil/gas alliance between Argentina’s YPF and PDVSA (Venezuelan Petroleum) when he meets with his peer Cristina Fernandez in Brasilia in the framework of the Mercosur extraordinary summit to officially incorporate the country as full member of the trade group.

Israeli ambassador in Uruguay Dori Goren said that the incorporation of Venezuela of Mercosur should “concern” the countries of the regional block given what he described as “Venezuelan support to Iranian agents that establish terror webs in the region”.