The most notable thing about Mercosur's presidential summit held in Asuncion, Paraguay's capital, on June 29th, was an absence-that of Hugo Chavez. Venezuela's strident left-wing president chose to spend last weekend in Moscow and Iran, shopping for arms and for friends. Without him, the Mercosur meeting was much quieter. But South America's biggest trade block, beset by bickering and backsliding, is still a long way from regaining the importance it had in the 1990s.
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