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Download - LSE Theses Online - London School of Economics and ...

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d. The Party in CongressWhile PT was the largest party in Congress following the 2002 elections with 81seats, increasing to 83 seats in the 2006 election, it required the cooperation <strong>of</strong> otherparties to pass legislation in the 513-seat Chamber <strong>of</strong> Deputies. As noted inChapter 4 (p.126), Congress has largely had a retroactive role in foreignpolicymaking, so the Party’s role is limited to providing <strong>and</strong> winning cross-partysupport for treaties <strong>and</strong> agreements entered into by the executive, as well as for theapproval <strong>of</strong> the President’s selection <strong>of</strong> ambassadors. Nonetheless, this has notdiminished the role <strong>of</strong> the legislature in foreign policy.One prominent example is the Chamber <strong>of</strong> Deputies’ long <strong>and</strong> drawn-out process<strong>of</strong> confirmation <strong>of</strong> the Executive’s approval <strong>of</strong> Venezuela’s accession to Mercosulin June 2006. The Chamber <strong>of</strong> Deputies, controlled by PT <strong>and</strong> parties allied with it,ratified Venezuela’s accession within a year <strong>of</strong> the accession protocol being agreedby Heads <strong>of</strong> State. With potentially far-reaching effects for Brazilian trade withVenezuela, regional relations, <strong>and</strong> the promotion <strong>of</strong> democracy in South America,the Senate delayed the vote on Venezuela’s accession to Mercosul. Approval wasonly secured in December 2009, 561 prompting searching questions for Brazil’s rolein the regional integration process in South America. Among these are howdemocracy can be strengthened from the regional perspective in the face <strong>of</strong>compelling economic motives for increased trade <strong>and</strong> enhanced regulation <strong>of</strong>commercial relations. As an indication <strong>of</strong> this dilemma, Venezuela was at this timeextending its reach into the Brazilian extractive industries, with a 40% stake in a newoil refinery in north-eastern Brazil. 562 Opposition Senators had cited the increasingsuppression <strong>of</strong> democratic liberties in Venezuela as not being consonant withMercosul’s democracy requirement for member states. The episode also revealedthe limits <strong>of</strong> Lula’s <strong>and</strong> PT’s control over foreign policy after the taking <strong>of</strong> initialdecisions by the executive.561 Rabello, Maria Luiza, “Brazil Senators Approve Venezuela Entry Into Mercosur”,Bloomberg, 15 December, 2009. Accessed online at:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aKMncefxQsq4 on 10October 2010.562 BBC News, “Brazil <strong>and</strong> Venezuela link trade” (2007)accessed online athttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7143728.stm on 1 March, 2011.221

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