New Brazilian Foreign Minister is a critic of Trump's victory, sponsors Mercosur, the Pacific Alliance and Free Trade

Foto: Pedro França/Agência Estado

Brazilian President Michel Temer has picked as his new Foreign Minister a man who already has criticized U.S. President Trump. Temer named Senator Aloysio Nunes (71) to the post on Thursday to replace José Serra. Serra resigned last week alleging medical reasons. The appointment doesn't require congressional approval. Both Nunes and Serra belong to the center-right PSDB party, member of the ruling coalition.

After Trump's victory in November, Nunes went on Twitter to call the real estate mogul “the worst” of the Republican Party, “uncontrollable” and “exaggerated.”

A leftist guerrilla when a student who fought against Brazil's military dictatorship in the late 1960’s, (he was forced into exile in France from 1968 to 1979), Nunes is today a strong advocate of free trade and private initiative. He promoted closer ties to the United States as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but his initial response to the election of Trump last year was very negative. Nunes was also Justice Minister in 2001-2002.

Nunes is expected to follow Serra's lead in moving away from a foreign policy of alignment with left-wing governments in Latin America followed by the Workers Party that was ousted from power with the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff last year.

“At this moment, in which Brazil is beginning to emerge from a deep crisis, foreign policy can make a big contribution in the economy, in foreign trade, in attracting investments to create more jobs,” he said in a video on his Facebook page.

Nunes said he will work to revive the five-nation Mercosur trade bloc of South America by drawing it closer to the Pacific Alliance countries and concluding a trade deal with the European Union.

Nunes is a senior figure of PSDB party, a crucial ally for Temer's center-right PMDB at a time when the President is trying to maintain congressional support for austerity reforms and to stem the damage from a sprawling corruption scandal that has already brought down several ministers.

Source: Mercopress Agency

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Venezuela suspended from Mercosur - Maduro's Foreign Minister says it was a coup

On Friday, the founding Mercosur countries suspended Venezuela from full membership of the free-trade bloc in view of its failure to adjust its domestic regulations to economic agreements and human rights and immigration guidelines and principles that are mandatory to all the other members.

The Argentine Foreign Ministry issued a statement indicating that the ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay had informed to Nicolás Maduro Administration that Venezuela had been stripped of its capacity to “exercise those rights inherent to a member state of Mercosur.”

Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay adopted the measure, which Caracas considered "a coup” since it had called for activation of the bloc's conflict resolution mechanism for “aggression and harassment” against its pro tempore presidency of the bloc. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez claimed her country was still in full exercise of the bloc's pro tempore presidency taken over by Caracas in August, when Uruguay's term ended. A collegiate presidency is said to be now effective until a new president takes over. A new meeting will be held on Tuesday in Montevideo to outline the future of Mercosur without Venezuela, while Brazil judged that Caracas will not return to the bloc in the short term and Uruguay said the decision could be appealed.

Rodríguez insisted Venezuela would continue to take part in Mercosur activities “with voice and vote rights in all meetings as a member State,” because “Venezuela does not recognize this illegal act”. “Certain media have spread the false notification of suspension, which does not exist,” added the Venezuelan diplomat.

Venezuela, a member of Mercosur since 2012, had until Friday to pass several internal resolutions of the bloc. “Venezuela had four years to incorporate the current Mercosur regulations and was granted an additional term to honor its obligations, which ended on December 1, 2016, and the measure adopted will remain in force until the States Parties to the Treaty of Asunción agree with that country the conditions to restore the exercise of their rights as a State Party”, the statement said.

In Brazil, Foreign Minister José Serra did not elaborate on the issue, but confirmed the measure: “It had already been announced if it did not meet certain requirements, and it was,” he said. Other Brazilian government sources warned that Venezuela's dismissal “probably will not be reversed in the short term.”

Source: Mercopress, El País

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Canciller brasileño es contundente: "Venezuela no va a presidir Mercosur"

El canciller brasileño José Serra criticó al presidente de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, asegurando que "todos pueden estar seguros de que [él] no va a presidir el Mercosur”. El gobierno de Caracas se autoproclamó titular pro tempore del bloque, generando una crisis institucional sin precedentes en el Cono Sur. Venezuela es criticada por carecer de credenciales democráticas y por presuntos incumplimientos de normas jurídicas.

La presidencia del Mercosur es rotativa y desde julio debería ocuparla Venezuela, que es cuestionada por Brasil, Paraguay y Argentina.

En contacto protocolar con periodistas el lunes, el jefe de la política externa del presidente brasileño interino Michel Temer ratificó sus cuestionamientos a la administración venezolana.

El Mercosur está en una aguda crisis institucional por el traspaso de la jefatura rotativa, que se transmite por orden alfabético a cada uno de los países miembros cada seis meses. Argentina, Paraguay y Brasil han rechazado, en tonos diferentes, tanto la decisión de Uruguay de declinar la presidencia una vez que se venció su período (el 29 de julio pasado), así como el anuncio hecho por Venezuela de que pasa a ejercer entonces el cargo.

Ante esta situación, Brasil señaló que la presidencia del Mercosur está “vacante”. Paraguay, sin embargo, resalta que presidencia de Venezuela es, solamente, de “facto”. Argentina, a su vez, señala que Caracas no cumplió los requisitos jurídicos para ser socio pleno del bloque y la transferencia de la presidencia rotativa tampoco es automática. Según la diplomacia de Brasil y Paraguay, Venezuela aún debe adoptar unas 400 normas, política, comercial y de derechos humanos, del Mercosur para confirmar su condición de miembro pleno del grupo.

Fuente: Mercopress Agency

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Datafolha: Marina lidera intenções de voto contra Aécio e Lula

A ex-ministra do Meio Ambiente Marina Silva lidera todas as simulações de cenário para a corrida presidencial de 2018, de acordo com a mais recente pesquisa Datafolha divulgada pelo jornal Folha de S.Paulo. De acordo com o instituto, a líder da Rede Sustentabilidade tem mais intenções de voto do que todos os atuais presidenciáveis em um percentual que varia entre 21% e 24%, a depender do candidato do PSDB escolhido. Nas eleições de 2014, Marina recebeu mais de 22 milhões de votos, ficando em terceiro lugar no primeiro turno.

O mesmo levantamento mostra que 68% dos entrevistados querem o impeachment da presidente Dilma Rousseff, enquanto 65% querem que ela renuncie – os percentuais anteriores eram 60% e 58%, respectivamente. O principal fato ocorrido entre uma pesquisa e outra foi a divulgação das acusações feitas em delação premiada pelo ex-líder do governo Delcídio do Amaral, dando novo e explosivo impulso à Operação Lava Jato.

O ex-presidente Lula, que voltou ao governo e provoca uma turbulência política em Brasília, perdeu pontos percentuais de intenção de voto em relação à pesquisa anterior. Ele fica em terceiro lugar na disputa com Marina e o senador Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG), derrotado por Dilma nas eleições de 2014.

A pesquisa foi realizada nos dias 17 e 18 de março em 171 municípios, e ouviu 2.794 pessoas. A margem de erro é de dois pontos percentuais, para mais ou para menos – resultados podem transpor ou ficar abaixo do total percentual (100%), em razão de eventuais arredondamentos, informa o Datafolha.

Confira os quatro cenários liderados por Marina Silva:

Cenário 1 (com Aécio):

Marina Silva (Rede): 21%

Aécio Neves (PSDB): 19%

Lula (PT): 17%

Bolsonaro (PP): 6%

Ciro Gomes (PDT): 6%

Luciana Genro (PSOL): 3%

Eduardo Jorge (PV): 2%

Ronaldo Caiado (DEM): 2%

Michel Temer (PMDB): 1%

Branco/nulo: 18%

Não sabe: 6%

Cenário 2 (com Alckmin):

Marina Silva (Rede): 23%

Lula (PT): 17%

Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB): 11%

Ciro Gomes (PDT): 7%

Bolsonaro (PP): 6%

Luciana Genro (PSOL): 3%

Eduardo Jorge (PV): 2%

Michel Temer (PMDB): 2%

Ronaldo Caiado (DEM): 1%

Branco/nulo: 20%

Não sabe: 7%

Cenário 3 (com Serra):

Marina Silva (Rede): 24%

Lula (PT): 17%

Serra (PSDB): 13%

Ciro Gomes (PDT): 7%

Bolsonaro (PP): 7%

Luciana Genro (PSOL): 3%

Eduardo Jorge (PV): 2%

Ronaldo Caiado (DEM): 2%

Michel Temer (PMDB): 1%

Branco/nulo: 19%

Não sabe: 6%

Cenário 4 (com os três tucanos):

Marina Silva (Rede): 17%

Lula (PT): 17%

Aécio Neves (PSDB): 14%

Sergio Moro (sem partido): 8%

Serra (PSDB): 6%

Bolsonaro (PP): 5%

Ciro Gomes (PDT): 5%

Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB): 5%

Luciana Genro (PSOL): 3%

Eduardo Jorge (PV): 1%

Ronaldo Caiado (DEM): 1%

Michel Temer (PMDB): 1%

Branco/nulo: 13%

Não sabe: 5%

Fonte: Congresso em Foco

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