Chavez outburst puts Mercosur vote on hold

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Brazil's Senate has postponed a vote that would have brought Venezuela finally into the fold of South America's Mercosur trade bloc after a "war" outcry by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Chavez angered the Brazilian senators after going on air to urge his people to prepare for war with Colombia, which recently agreed to let the U.S. military use its bases to fight drug cartels and rebels. Venezuela opposes the U.S. use of Colombian bases and calls it a preparation for a U.S. invasion of oil-rich Colombia to capture its resources.

Sen. Grim Argello from Brazil's ruling coalition, which favors the incorporation of Venezuela into Mercosur, acknowledged that the war outcry by Chavez had shocked the Senate and seriously complicated the vote, hinting that the remarks had compromised Venezuela's supporters in the body.

Opposition Sen. Jose Agripino Maia lashed out at "Chavez and his war-mongering speech," which he said had crushed any hopes for an agreement on the vote.

No new date for the vote has been set, but aides to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were busy calming emotions after the latest debacle.

The Senate vote was to have been the last step in a long process of admitting Venezuela to Mercosur. Chavez applied for full membership in 2006, but the complicated ratification process was slowed further by fiery pronouncements by the populist president. There has been sharp criticism in Brazil of his suppression of independent media and other alleged assaults on democratic order.

During his "Alo Presidente" radio program Sunday, Chavez called on Venezuelans to prepare for war with Colombia -- raising the political temperature in the Brazilian Senate, the last hurdle before the country's accession to Mercosur.

A Chavez aide Thursday appeared to soften the tone, saying Venezuela did not want "a war between brothers," the official Venezuelan news agency ABN said. Minister of People's Power for Communication and Information Blanca Eekhout said Venezuela would not accept a war that was "fratricide" and "always looked for dialogue and convergence points as the only way in which democracy can work," ABN said.

Venezuela has done without Mercosur since applying for membership, but Chavez has made his nation's entry into the group a cause celebre and a point of prestige. His Brazilian critics question Venezuela's suitability for the trading bloc, alleging the country under Chavez is not democratic enough to qualify.

Mercosur was founded in March 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay under the Treaty of Asuncion. Although ambitiously promoted as the Common Market of the South, the trading bloc has not yet achieved its goal of a free movement of goods, capital, services and people among the member-states.