RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Rio de Janeiro State Legislative Assembly (Alerj) announced on Thursday that it will honor Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with its best award -- the Tiradentes Medal.

    Chavez will be in Rio to attend the summit of the Common Market of the South scheduled for Jan. 18-19.

    State deputy Paulo Ramos of the Democratic Labor Party initiated the idea and decided to take the opportunity to pay homage to the Venezuelan leader, who is a also a friend of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas.

    Although the assembly will be in recess until February, a solemn ceremony has been planned for Jan. 19.

    According to Alerjs press office, the decision to award Chavez with the medal was approved in 1999.

    Chavez was sworn in on Wednesday for his third term, following the announcement of the implementation of a socialist model in his country.

    Tiradentes is the nickname for Joaquim Jose da Silva Xavier, who is considered a national hero in Brazil. He died in the 18th century as a martyr in Brazil's course of independence from Portugal.