Give that man a gavel. Chavecito would be smiling if he could see this:
During a pause in the Mercosur summit, Uruguayan president Pepe Mujica said: “It’s time for the gavel”, and thereupon he rose with the symbolic tool to hand the pro tempore presidency of Mercosur to Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Thus, the Venezuelan president received the presidency of the Common Market of the South this afternoon. “I commit to continuing to follow the path of fortifying Mercosur and expanding its work capacity,” Maduro said.
“With the left hand of Chávez and the spirit of Bolívar,” said Maduro, upon taking the symbolic gavel in his hand, which marks him as president of the international organism.
“We wish to thank President Mujica for conducting this double workday which we have had today, and from this moment, the presidency of Venezuela in Mercosur begins, which is a historic occasion thanks to the work of Comandante Hugo Chávez and his Bolivarian, Latin American, historic vision,” Maduro said.
“We intend to follow the way of political, economic, commercial, diplomatic and social integration, growing stronger and more united every time,” he added.
[…]
After six years of waiting, Venezuela was accepted as a full member of Mercosur in 2012, at the summit in the Argentine city of Mendoza, and today, for the first time, assumes the presidency of the bloc, which is composed of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay, the last suspended until August 15, when its new government takes office.
Translation mine.
So, the worst fears of Washington, Wall St. and the IMF and World Bank are coming true: Venezuela now heads Mercosur for a year. And the president of the bloc is Chavecito’s successor. The only thing that could make more of their heads explode is if it were the big handsome Comandante himself.
