President Chávez announces full membership in Mercosur

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez submitted full incorporation of Venezuela in Mercosur.

"The protocol on Venezuela's adhesion to Mercosur was approved last night (Tuesday) in Buenos Aires," the ruler said.

"This is history. I invite the good Venezuelan journalists to record the history. Venezuela has joined Mercosur. This is a fundamental step. For seven and a half years, we have been working on it with devotion and passion."

The Adhesion Protocol notes that the negotiation process reaffirmed the importance of Venezuela's inclusion in Mercosur in order to consolidate South American integration as part of Latin American unification.

"At any time, integration should be a tool to further comprehensive development, fight poverty and social dropout. It should be based on complementation, solidarity and cooperation," the document pointed out.