Venezuela suspended from South American trade bloc over rights violations News
Venezuela suspended from South American trade bloc over rights violations

[JURIST] South American trade bloc Mercosur [official website, in Spanish] on Friday notified Venezuela that the country will be suspended in light of its membership requirement violations. Leading member countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay reportedly determined [Reuters report] that Venezuela, a member since 2012, had not met the organization’s economic, trade and immigration standards and had given the country a December ultimatum back in September. Venezuela would be required to renegotiate its membership to end the suspension, but such a feat is expected to be difficult in light of the country’s tensions with the member countries. Previously, Brazil and Argentina made efforts to prevent [WSJ report] Venezuela from taking its turn as the organization’s leader. Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez, who initially denied the recent suspension, later accused the countries of hijacking Mercosur’s mechanisms to attempt a “coup” against the country. The suspension threatens to isolate the country as it continues to struggles with overwhelming political and economic issues under President Nicolás Maduro’s [BBC profile] administration.

Venezuela has recently been crippled by legislative tension between the pro-government controlled Supreme Tribunal of Justice and the opposition-majority National Assembly of Venezuela [official website] following Maduro’s election. Last month the National Assembly postponed [JURIST report] a symbolic trial of Maduro in an effort to ease political tensions. In October the National Assembly voted to open criminal impeachment proceedings [JURIST report] against Maduro, alleging that he manipulated the constitution to remain in power. That same month the Assembly also declared [JURIST report] that there is a breakdown of constitutional order and that the government had staged a coup by blocking an attempt to remove Maduro from power. In June government officials asked the Supreme Court to deny a referendum [JURIST report] to remove Maduro proposed by opposition leaders. In April Venezuela’s opposition-led parliament approved [JURIST report] new referendum rules. In March the Supreme Tribunal of Justice ruled that the Venezuelan national assembly may not review the appointment of 13 justices [JURIST report] to the high court by the Socialist Party. The 13 justices were sworn in on December 23, immediately prior to the exit of prior Socialist Party majority. In February the court upheld Maduro’s economic emergency decree [JURIST report] as legal and valid despite a rejection by the national assembly. The decree allows the president to control the budget, companies and the currency.