RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Uruguay's legalization of civil unions for homosexual couples may open new possibilities for homosexual couples in Brazil, said Brazilian lower house member Fernando Gabeira on Wednesday.

    Gabeira, of the Green Party, told local media that the tendency of a uniform legislation in the four member states of the South American Common Market (Mercosur), namely, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, may give a chance to Brazilian same-sex couples to legalize their unions.

    However, Gabeira said the possibility was "just a supposition for the moment" as its "juridical viability" would still need to undergo further analysis.

    The parliamentarian also stressed the need of enacting the law in Uruguay, saying he will get more details of the new Uruguayan law in the upcoming meeting of the Mercosur Parliament scheduled for next week in Uruguay's capital of Montevideo.

    He said the law may focus on the "guarantee of essential rights" for same-sex couples which is similar to a bill presented by former Sao Paulo City Mayor Marta Suplicy. The bill, however, has never been voted by the Brazilian congress.

    Uruguay's congress on Tuesday legalized civil unions for homosexual couples in the first nationwide law of its kind in Latin America.

    Under the new law, gay and straight couples will be eligible for civil unions after living together for five years and will have rights similar to those granted to married couples on such matters as inheritance, pensions and child custody.