Thursday, June 28th 2012 - 07:37 UTC

Paraguay manufacturers support the country’s expulsion from Mercosur

Paraguay’s head of the Industrial Union Eduardo Felippo said that he’s supportive of the possibility that the country is excluded from Mercosur, adding that “the rest of the members are going to lose more money than us”

“We’re going to lose less money”, said business leader Felippo

Interviewed by ABC Color, Asunción main daily, Felippo said on Wednesday that he had met with fellow industrialists and started working with numbers, and we agreed that “getting out of Mercosur is going to benefit us greatly”.

In the event of Paraguay been excluded from the regional block “it won’t be for us a problem” but he also said he believed “Mercosur won’t sanction us”. The diplomatic process must continue and “we will overcome”.

“Outside of Mercosur we will have greater options. We are going to develop our muscle to export to other countries, we are going to ensure that our trade partners in the future will be other countries, other continents and not our neighbours which whether we like it or not, were part of the Triple Alliance”, said Filippo in clear reference to Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and a war in the mid 1800s., which decimated the Paraguayan population.

Starting on Thursday and including Friday Mercosur leaders will be discussing in Mendoza, Argentina the possibility of excluding Paraguay from the regional block in protest over the removal of former president Fernando Lugo and his replacement by Federico Franco following an overwhelming political impeachment.

Paraguay and to a great extent Uruguay, have been particularly critical of some of Mercosur decisions which they complain has become a two-member club, Brazil and Argentina, which in many cases solemnly ignore the junior members or forget to consult them.

For example had it not been for the Paraguayan situation this Mercosur summit was going to decide the increase of the common external tariff to the maximum allowed by the World Trade Organization (35% for some cases) which Uruguay and Paraguay, as small countries which need open economies, strongly rejected.
However Argentina and Brazil have been acting as if the issue had already been approved.

 

Published in: Economy, Politics, Mercosur, Paraguay.
Tags: Eduardo Felippo, Federico Franco, Fernando Lugo, Mercosur, Mercosur Summit - Mendoza, Paraguay.

10 comments Feed

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1 British_Kirchnerist (#) Jun 28th, 2012 - 11:26 am Report abuse
This is just bravado from the Paraguyan elite whose primary concern is securing their coup against the representative of the poor. The blood curling nationalist reference to the Triple Alliance, the second on here already, is worrying for Paraguay's future trajectory...
2 Conqueror (#) Jun 28th, 2012 - 01:13 pm Report abuse
So Brazil and argieland ignore the “junior partners”? The “EU of the South”. We can all see where the “EU of the North” is going. Down the tubes. It's supposed to be a “partnership” of equals. But it's not. It's a vehicle for French and German imperialism. The British people, at least, have got wise. As have people all over Europe. France only wants to suck out money to support its antiquated agricultural system. Germany only wants to support its industrial sector where, but for the euro, most German goods would be unaffordable. Neither cares about the ordinary people of 25 other nations.

And mercosur is no different. Except that there are fewer members. Brazil and argieland want to be “top dogs” in S. Am. That's why Venezuela or, more correctly, Chavez wants in. If he lasts, I can see him eyeing the Imperial Throne of South America. Of course, “Emperor Hugo” won't last long. His own health, the Chinese or the Russians will see to that!
3 Captain Poppy (#) Jun 28th, 2012 - 01:18 pm Report abuse
Coup wise up to the populist rheotic BK. Paraguay used their constitutional authority to remove the president by congressional vote. Those theiving, populist leaders are pissed off that Paraguay removed a socialist from presidential power. They wised up and saw the path the prist was taking them. Politics has no room for religion and populism is a deadend like socialism.
4 Idlehands (#) Jun 28th, 2012 - 02:18 pm Report abuse
British_Kirchnerist : “The blood curling”

Is this blood twisting round and round or sliding down some ice?

Either way I don't see how it pertains to the Triple Alliance
5 rnbgr (#) Jun 28th, 2012 - 02:32 pm Report abuse
Brazil, has large interests in Paraguay, and will act with discretion on this. Bringing up the war of the Triple alliance is a defense tactic, directed at Argentina who annexed a third of Paraguay after Paraguay was defeated, but who is pushing for sovereignty over a certain set of islands to the east. Both of theses controversies took place within 30 years in the mid 19th century
6 jerry (#) Jun 28th, 2012 - 05:31 pm Report abuse
This article started out on a bad note by using incorrect English - - “the rest of the members are going to lose more money than us”, which should have said “the rest of the members are going to lose more money than we”.
7 Idlehands (#) Jun 28th, 2012 - 06:05 pm Report abuse
6 jerry

Who taught you English grammar????

“us” is a pronoun and the objective form of “we”

I'm puzzled as the rest of your post seems like native English but the sentence you suggest would even sound wrong to a young child.

Rather odd.
8 DanyBerger (#) Jun 29th, 2012 - 11:21 am Report abuse
Ah!

Learning English on Mercopress is always a lot of fun or Fan?
WE or As? may be Us?
Are you talking to we? or talking we to us?

Me 'm confused now.
Some one can help I?
9 Idlehands (#) Jun 29th, 2012 - 11:39 am Report abuse
You are always confused and no amount of tutoring would help you.
10 Simon68 (#) Jul 02nd, 2012 - 03:51 pm Report abuse
Tis is a very sensible suggestion by the Paraguayan Industrial Union, Argentina and Brasil have been bullying Paraguay and Uruguay ever since the founding of Mercosur.

The mention of the War of the Triple Alliance is very natural, a huge proportion of the male population of Paraguay was slaughtered in that war, the racial memory of such a massacre doesn't go away in a couple of hundred years!!!

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