Paraguay's President Fernando Lugo has been unable to lead the Congress into endorsing the adhesion (Photo: Reuters)

Economy
A recommendation on Venezuela's inclusion in the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) was withheld on Wednesday because the members of the Senate's Commission of External Affairs failed to reach an agreement.

The Commission regularly issues two judgments on the matters submitted for its consideration -one from the majority and another from the minority. This time, however, voting was not even considered.

Alberto Grillón, of pro-government People's Democratic Party and chair of the Commission, said that its 11 members, representatives of different parties, "could not reach an agreement on the need for Venezuela to join our regional bloc."

"I personally think that Venezuela's presence will benefit all the partners because it has a large consumer market," he added.

The Congresses of Argentina and Uruguay approved in 2008 Venezuela's membership in Mercosur. However, no decision by Brazil and Paraguay has been made so far.

Translated by Conchita Delgado