23.07.201719:48:00UTC+00MERCOSUR: Bloc Could Expel Venezuela, Says Argentina Minister

Mercosur will permanently expel Venezuela from the bloc if the country's government advances with its intentions to call for a Constituent Assembly election on July 30, said the Argentinean Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie at the sidelines of the bloc summit in Mendoza.

"Some may read it as an expelling, but at the moment we do not have to discuss if it is a suspension of this or that. We have to talk about the fact that there is no democracy in Venezuela, and we will ratify it if there is no capacity for dialogue," the chancellor told reporters.

Venezuela was suspended from Mercosur for disrespecting the bloc's regulations. Earlier, Argentina President Mauricio Macri said that Mercosur is expecting the early adoption of an electoral calendar.

President Nicol?s Maduro's opponents carried out a 24-hour national strike as a part of the "zero hour" initiative, which seeks the president's resignation.