BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Latin American trade bloc Mercosur is aiming to forge a regional parliament likely to be more democratic than some of its constituent countries as it prepares to clinch a deal with the European Union.
The EU is Mercosur's ultimate model but the group has faced criticism that several of its member countries have yet to meet the criteria established when the regional trade pact came into force in 1991. Mercosur was founded by the Treaty of Asuncion and later upgraded by another treaty signed at Ouro Preto, Brazil.
Mercosur's founding members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay have been joined by associate members that include Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Venezuela joined as a full member but has yet to win formal entry.
Both critics and supporters say a more democratic framework for Mercosur would be "good to have" before an association and cooperation agreement with the EU is formalized early next year.
The revamped regional assembly, Parlasur, has set more ambitious targets for democratization than several of the constituent countries have appeared willing to allow for their national legislatures.
Nearly all the objectives of Mercosur mirror the EU's makeup. Unlike multilingual EU, Mercosur is content to work with only Portuguese and Spanish, the two dominant languages in Latin America.
The Mercosur region's total population of more than 270 million and a gross domestic product of $2.9 trillion makes it an attractive partner for the EU.
A political agreement now in place aims to introduce allocation of seats in Parlasur on the basis of proportional representation and direct universal vote. Both concepts are unfamiliar to some of the constituent countries.
Uruguayan Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Almagro, who announced the political accord after a meeting in Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital, said the agreement "among other things establishes proportional representation and the need for citizens' participation in the election of parliament members."
Parlasur has been meeting on and off since 2007 with representatives from founding members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay elected by their peers in each of the national legislatures. The founding countries have 18 representatives each in Parlasur, which meets in Montevideo.
Once the agreement comes into force the regional legislature will have 37 representatives from Brazil, 26 from Argentina and 18 each from Paraguay and Uruguay, MercoPress reported.
By 2015, however, Parlasur will have 75 seats representing Brazil and 43 for Argentina, while Paraguay and Uruguay will each have the 18 seats they have at present. The disparity was explained by adherence to a proportional representation model that compared Brazil's population of 193 million and Uruguay's 3.3 million.
Already disagreements over the shift to proportional representation have appeared on the surface, especially in tiny Uruguay. And it is by no means clear if Argentina, already facing problems with democratic processes at home, will introduce timely legislation to get the switchover going.
An even more challenging task facing Mercosur will be giving Parlasur teeth. So far, Parlasur has demonstrated little political clout. However, Mercosur member countries are wary of empowering Parlasur at the expense of national government and policy making. Critics cite the example of European dissatisfaction over EU taking on joint foreign policy and defense roles.
Mercosur's talks with European Union are seen as an incentive to Latin American government leaders and legislators to follow the European model and try to make the most of opportunities offered by Parlasur.
The next round of Mercosur-EU talks is to take place in Brasilia in late November after transition of power from outgoing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to a new president to emerge from the second round of voting. Lula protege and Workers Party representative Dilma Rousseff is favored to win.
