Brazil's government should further analyze a proposal by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to form a regional bank before deciding whether to join, said Marco Aurelio Garcia, a foreign affairs aid to Brazil's president.
Brazil would support a meeting of regional finance officials to discuss how the Bank of the South would operate, Garcia said.
``We don't want to eat a meal that's already been prepared,'' Garcia, an aide to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told reporters at a regional energy summit in Porlamar, Venezuela. ``The proposal needs more study.''
Venezuela and Argentina founded the Bank of the South in February to promote regional integration and ease their nations' reliance on international lenders. Bolivia and Ecuador have signed on to the initiative. The bank is scheduled to begin operating by the end of the year.
Venezuela welcomes deeper participation by Brazil in the formation of the bank, Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas said. ``This isn't the Bank of Chavez,'' Cabezas told reporters in Porlamar. ``There's no attitude on our part to impose anything.''
