Friday, January 19, 2007
South American trading bloc Mercosur needs to do more to address social concerns, regional leaders have said.
At a summit in Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said national interests had to be put aside to tackle inequalities between Mercosur states.
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez went further and said the bloc needed to be “de-contaminated of neo-liberalism”.
The bloc – which also includes Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – is discussing Bolivia’s bid for full membership.
The leaders of associate and observer nations are also attending the two-day summit which opened amid heavy security in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.
Source: BBC (link opens in a new window)
