The government allies on the other hand stressed the need for trade with the neighboring country and did everything to separate Venezuela from its president.

With the approval of the senate, the accession will be now signed by the President. However, even with the Brazilian approval the entry of Venezuela in Mercosur is not guaranteed. They still need the approval of Paraguay, which deferred to 2010 discussion on the subject. Without support in Congress, Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, chose to postpone the debate.

The proposal to admit Venezuela to the Mercosur had been approved late October by the Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations and since then was ready to be voted by the full house. In committee, the separate vote of senator Romero Jucá, from the PMDB party, in favor of accession, beat that of rapporteur, Tasso Jereissati, from the PSDB, who opposed the entry of Venezuela in the trade bloc.

Last week, there were more than six hours of heated discussion in Parliament, but the vote was postponed due to an agreement among government leaders who failed to approve the proposal. Despite the fact that today's session was only to vote the matter, new discussions ended up consuming nearly three hours.

By submitting the measure to vote, the leader of the ruling party PT in the Senate, Aloizio Mercadante argued that the vote was not to approve the Chavez government, but his country.

"Chavez is going to die one day. And I'm not making an agreement here with Hugo Chavez, I'm doing it with the people of Venezuela. Hugo Chavez is "morrí­vel" ("deadable")! He will die at some point. Do you get it? No use to get here, the opposition go up and talk about ideology, talk about government, talk about dictatorship," said the leader.

Mercadante questioned the arguments presented by the opposition. "On behalf of whom do they talk? Venezuelan opposition? But even the Venezuelan opposition has asked the Senate to approve the entry of Venezuela in Mercosur, which they see as a path to the cause of democracy. This was the request made to the Senate by the mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, when he was here in the Senate," said the PT leader.

The PT senator from Roraima, a state that borders the neighboring country, Augusto Botelho stressed the need for greater integration between Brazil and Venezuela, in order to develop the economy and the structure of his own state.

"We cannot do this (prevent the entry of Venezuela in Mercosur) with the people of my state and the Venezuelan people. 80% of what they eat there is imported. All our energy in Roraima comes from Venezuela and there is also a proposal to integrate our electrical system to the Venezuelan system. Buses used in Venezuela are also made in Brazil. I am against the dictatorship of Chavez, I think Chavez is abridging freedom, but people cannot be harmed," the senator said.

Papaléo Paes, from the opposition PSDB party, pointed out that the accession of Venezuela could hurt deals already done by Mercosur. "This is a shot, not on the foot, but the heart of Mercosur," the senator said.

"Before Chavez spoke of socialism in a vague way. Now he is talking about communism in Venezuela. He believes free trade to be exploitation of people. He proposes bartering, as he now does with Cuba, sending oil and getting doctors in return. Just when there is a resumption of negotiations with Mercosur in the European Union. Mercosur has negotiated an agreement, though limited, with Israel, a country with which Chavez does not accept links," commented Paes.

Senator Marconi Perillo, from the PSDB, also expressed concern over the influence of Chavez in the trade bloc. "Chavez does not bet on agreement. He bets on ruptures. Since I respect human rights, I vote against the entry of that country in Mercosur," he said.

Another PSDB senator, Marisa Serrano argued that the Venezuelan president will cause Mercosur problems by making use of veto power in trade negotiations, a power given to the member countries.

"How to imagine a colonel Hugo Chavez in a negotiating table? How to imagine Chavez with veto power over the negotiations? We know that if one of the members of Mercosur is against any negotiation the deal is void," the senator concluded.

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Following a heated debate the committee voted 12 to 5 in favor of Venezuela joining South America's main trade block started 18 years ago. The proposal must now go to the floor of Brazil's full Senate, and Paraguay's parliament must also approve before Venezuela can join.

At stake are tens of billions of dollars in trade and investment with the oil-rich nation and potentially affecting Venezuela's geopolitical ties to the region. Denying Venezuela membership could isolate Chavez from South America's major democracies and push him to deepen ties with distant allies such as Iran, Russia, and China, analysts summoned to the committee have repeatedly stated.

President Lula, who traveled to Caracas this Thursday, lobbied hard for Venezuela joining the group that is made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay with Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia as associate members.

Opposition senators who voted against the proposal said Venezuela did not comply with Mercosur's democratic principles because Chavez did not respect constitutional rights of opposition politicians and suppressed the media.

Some analysts have also cautioned that Venezuela's eclectic economic policy, which includes the nationalization of several industries, could further undermine the unity of Mercosur and hamper potential trade negotiations with the European Union and other groups.

"Chavez is rapidly marching toward dictatorship. We are burying Mercosur," said Senator Arthur Virgilio of the opposition PSDB party.

Brazil has a trade surplus of around US$ 5 billion a year with Venezuela, with Brazilian contractors holding US$ 20 billion worth of orders for public works projects including the building of Caracas underground.

"I admit Venezuela has problems, internal disputes, but the solution is not isolation," said Romero Jucá, government leader in the Senate.

Opposition Senator Tasso Jereissati, the rapporteur of the committee, had recommended keeping Venezuela out of the trade bloc, in a report that harshly criticized the alleged "authoritarian character" of President Chavez.

During the debate, the opposition reiterated its rejection of Venezuela's entry into Mercosur, due to the alleged "lack of freedom" in the South American country, which they described as "violations of the democratic clause" that is in force in the bloc.

Mercopress

1) Durban, South Africa

In South Africa some cities are unable to guarantee your safety. Especially the harbor city of Durban is notorious as far as personal safety goes. A. Dijkhzuizen has the following warning: "Be careful, don't just get into a taxi. You could get ambushed, robbed etc. Taxi chauffeurs are regularly murdered, especially those driving buses or vans."

2) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This South American metropolis is known for its criminal activity and corruption. The reason Jeroen van den Bos won't return to Rio de Janeiro, in his words, is: "At first glance it appears to be a beautiful city but in reality it's polluted and we were robbed at gunpoint of our money, sunglasses and sports shoes in the Ipanema suburb. The police did not make us feel any better or safer".

3) Nairobi, Kenya

The capital of Kenya displays a large discrepancy between the wealthy and poor. Bert has the following to say: "Kenya and the capital Nairobi are beautiful but terribly criminal. Make sure that you take a taxi at night or are escorted because "going out" without such safety precautions is foolish".

4) Playa el Agua, Isla Margarita

This popular coastal destination is becoming increasingly unsafe. "Very dangerous, we could not even leave our compound. Several people were robbed, and I mean with a gun to their head", according to Wendy who spent her holiday there.

5) Caracas, Venezuela

In the capital city of Venezuela, poverty is sadly the cause of much criminal activity. Tonny Oosterwaal experienced this first hand: "I was robbed at gunpoint which caused my wife to faint," he told Zoover.

Zoover describes itself as an independent and free holiday website where holiday destinations and accommodations are reviewed. The site is active in the UK as well as Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Switzerland and Turkey.

This is the second time since its inception in 2000 that the forum is being held outside of Porto Alegre, in the south of Brazil. The first time was in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, two years ago.

This year’s version is the first divided into regional venues: Bamako, Mali, and Karachi, Pakistan, in addition to Caracas. The forum in Caracas expects to receive around 100 thousand people, most of them from Latin America.

According to the organizers of the event, there are already 50 thousand people enrolled, representing 2,177 social organizations and governments from all around the world.

For six days the Caracas forum, which is organized according to thematic pillars, will discuss the following topics: Power, politics, and social emancipation struggles; Imperial strategies and popular resistance; Resources and the right to life, alternatives to the predatory model of civilization; Diversities, identities, and shifting cosmovisions; Work, exploitation, and the reproduction of life; Communication, culture and education, dynamics and democratizing alternatives.

Brazil will participate in discussions with representatives of governmental and civil society organizations. The minister of Agrarian Development, Miguel Rossetto, is leaving today for Venezuela, where his presence has been confirmed at a conference on agrarian reform on Thursday, January 26, together with government officials from Venezuela, Chile, Nicaragua, and Spain.

The head of the presidential staff office, minister Luiz Dulci, the minister of Environment, Marina Silva, and the head of the special secretariat of human rights, Paulo Vannuchi, will also attend the forum, where they will participate in debates on issues related to development, participatory democracy, and human rights.

The Caracas session of the 6th World Social Forum ends on Sunday, January 29.

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The ministers of Agrarian Development, Miguel Rossetto; Environment, Marina Silva; the Presidential Secretary General (Secretaria-Geral da Presidência da República), Luiz Dulci; the head of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights, Paulo Vannuchi; and the head of the Special Secretariat for Women Policies, Nilcéa Freire, will participate in the 6th WSF.

Brazil will also send various second and third echelon authorities to the event.

The presence of so many high-ranking authorities will give added weight to the discussion of Brazilian governmental programs in the areas of land reform and rural development, worker health and management of healthcare in general for and by the population, family farming.

They will also deal with low-cost housing, social inclusion in the areas of science and technology, protecting the environment and achieving sustainable development through democratic participation of society, and energy policies.

There will be a "Brazil Space" at the forum where the government will present panels on the following: Zero Hunger and Light for All, Family Farming and Land Reform, Making Education Democratic, Mercosur Citizen, and Social Participation in Healthcare and Environment Protection, and Combating Sexual Tourism.

Petrobras will present three panels on water, social technology networks and children and adolescent rights.

NGOs will also make presentations in the Brazil Space.

Agência Brasil