Chávez, Vázquez want to refit Mercosur

After honoring each other and executing 12 agreements, Venezuelan President Hugo
Chávez and his Uruguayan counterpart Tabaré Vázquez signed a joint declaration and promised to "refit Mercosur in order to overcome existing obstacles to the integration process."

In the statement, the heads of state wished "a better Mercosur in the context of sovereignty and self-determination free from any hegemonic claim."

During his speech, President Chávez pointed to "ongoing, terrible capitalist voracity in Mercosur. Mercosur would better overhaul; otherwise, it will face the same fate of the Andean Community of Nations, deadly and badly hurt."

"This is our call," he warned and emphasized on the need for Mercosur to acknowledge unbalances and set a strategy to complement economies.

"As the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) failed, then the US strategy shifted. They are fostering little FTAA's, the Free Trade Agreements (FTA.) Would anybody dare say that the FTA entered into by Colombia and the United States will not have an impact on us? Of course, they will damage our plans. Generic drugs are finished off in the face of FTA and prices will increase three-fold."

For his part, the Uruguayan ruler stated: "I have not come to Caracas for political tourism or marketing strategy. I have come to work and this is what we have done (…) While the agenda is not completed yet, we can say that the task has borne fruit."