Work group should institute proportionality criteria by April

The proportionality criterion which will determine the amount of seats reserved for each country at the Mercosul Parliament (Parlasul), from 2011 on, should be established in one month. That was the deadline conceded by the Governing Board of the parliament to a work group created therefore and composed by congresspeople and technical assistants from Venezuela and from the four founder-countries of the bloc – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
From January first, 2011, each country should have a caucus, specifically elected for Parlasul, in the same proportion to its population.

Paraguayan bill
On Sunday night, in downtown Montevideo, in an informal meeting with the Brazilian vice-president of Parlasul, Deputy Dr. Rosinha (PT-PR), the president of the Brazilian Representation in the Parliament, Senator Aloizio Mercadante (PT-SP), and congresspeople from the other four countries of the bloc, for the first time Paraguayan congresspeople presented a suggestion for the agreement.

According to the Paraguayan proposal, the smaller countries would maintain their current 18 congresspeople each, and a ceiling of 50 representatives would be established for more populated countries.

Disagreements
The maximum amount is still far from the one previewed in a proposal presented in 2007 by Dr. Rosinha, according to which Brazil would have 75 congresspeople; Argentina, 33; and Venezuela, 27. Paraguay and Uruguay would maintain their 18 congresspeople. A bill, presented last year by Argentina, also would indicate a ceiling of 75 congresspeople, but broadened the Argentine and Venezuelan caucus to 43 and 31 congresspeople, respectively.

Contributions
This year, also according to the agreement, the criteria on the contributions by each member-country to Parlasul will be established, from the second transition stage for its implementation – or be it: from the election of congresspeople, already taking into account the different sizes of caucuses by country. Thus, the countries with the bigger caucuses will probably be responsible for larger contributions to the budget of the Parliament.

From the newsroom/NA/RX
With information from Agência Senado
Translation - Positive Idiomas Ltda