A adesão venezuelana ao Mercosul: as estratégias de política externa e regionalismo sul-americanos

This article addresses theaccession of Venezuela to Mercosur, observing the political conjuncture of the early 2000s, in the national, regional and international levels. This perspective seeks to understand the strategic calculation developed by president Hugo Chávez administration to broaden its room for maneuverin the South American context and to reach its goals of international insertion. Thus, the processes of withdrawal of the AndeanCommunity and the approximation to Southern Common Market are analyzed, as well as the impulse towards the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America. The analysis is accompanied byan interpretation of both domestic and international political phenomena, which allowed for the development of aspectsof South American regionalism.