Uruguay says it accepted Venezuela in Mercosur as part of a major negotiation
The Uruguayan government said that it accepted the incorporation of Venezuela as full member of Mercosur as part of a “negotiation” in which it demanded no economic sanctions on Paraguay and that is why “the last word has not been said” on the issue.
During a press round following a cabinet council meeting on Monday the Deputy Secretary from the Presidency Diego Canepa expanded on Foreign minister Luis Almagro’s words, earlier in the day, when he said he was not satisfied with the incorporation of Venezuela to Mercosur under the current circumstances and that is why there was a request to have until July 31 to make effective the entrance of President Hugo Chavez.
According to Canepa, Uruguay ended accepting the decision although it was in favour of such a move on virtue of “political circumstances”.
“That is why President Jose Mujica decided not to veto the incorporation of Venezuela in spite of the fact that the Paraguayan parliament had not given its approval, but given the trading importance of Venezuela for Uruguay, as well as the acceptance by Brazil and Argentina not to impose economic sanctions on the Paraguayan regime”, explained Canepa.
The Deputy Secretary then revealed that President Mujica and Minister Almagro decided to attend the Mendoza summit with the idea of not allowing economic sanctions on Paraguay, because “what happened was not a problem with the Paraguayan people”.
Accordingly Mujica requested from his peers, Cristina Fernandez and Dilma Rousseff the continuity of the Mercosur Structural Convergence Fund for Paraguay and proposed that Venezuela should not cut the oil aid to the country, as Chavez had originally promised and announced.
Besides, the Uruguayan president proposed and it was accepted by the two lady presidents the opening of the regional block “to the countries from the Pacific Alliance,” a decision which Uruguay “believes is an opportunity to expand dialogue and not end up with a fractured America”.
The Pacific Alliance recently created includes Chile, Peru and Colombia, and eventually Mexico, all governments that favour open markets, foreign investment and are friendly business, which is not necessarily the case with Mercosur and the rest of the continent.
The alliance has seriously disturbed Brazilian diplomacy that is now facing a major challenge to their political, economic and trade dominance in the region.
Canepa also pointed out that Mujica requested to wait until the next Mercosur meeting in Rio do Janeiro to make official the incorporation of Venezuela instead of doing it right away in Mendoza.
“It was important that Uruguay adopted a realistic policy and having achieved what it achieved, Uruguay could not appear vetoing the access of Venezuela” argued Canepa.
The close aide of Mujica said that “Uruguay understands that from a juridical point of view another path could have been chosen and even better, but if in your country half the political public opinion supports it, you can’t reject the position”.
He also insisted that the incorporation of Venezuela to the Mercosur block was “long ago voted” by the Uruguayan parliament and besides all the presidents considered that the Ushuaia constitutional clause was not being complied during the process to remove Lugo and that is why the suspension of Paraguay from all Mercosur activities until elections are held in 2013.
“Paraguay did not leave Mercosur, but rather a democratic clause was applied. The three presidents understood that it was necessary to send a strong signal in strategic terms so that Mercosur in a complex chapter in world affairs, more precisely because of the situation the EU and US are undergoing”, concluded the loquacious Canepa.
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“We relied on Paraguay to keep Chavez out of Mercosur and, when when BR & AR played the pawn gambit with PA, we were out-manoeuvred ... and so here we are trying to say we were not bullied into it by the big boys”.
Or, more succinctly “God help us all, now”.
This Pacific Alliance seems to be a completely ideological spoiler block, now Humala is in power in Peru he should leave and if Bachelet returns she could scuttle it for good
BTW....please, wait until the Chilean people makes a decision about the liar Chanchelet....if she can get the runner up position inside the Concerta Clowns Alliance....
Are you serious? successful countries?? Uruguay & Brasil going down??? The only part that is true on your statement (or I should say...opinion!), is that Argentina is Bankrupt...the rest is just BS.
flame on!
Highest per capita gdp in Latin America, one of the lowest levels of crime in the continent, no guerillas, no civil wars, no favelas/barriadas covering 50% of cities, free healthcare/universities, the most clement weather in the Americas: not too hot (Brazil, Central America), not too cold (Canada), not too violent (USA/Mexico tornadoes and hurricanes), safest place from natural disaters (no flash flooding like Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela; no devastating earthquakes like Chile, Peru, Mexico, USA)... best country for theater and motion pictures in Latin America, best country in the world for teenager television, one of the most succesful countries in team sports (football, basketball, rugby, field hockey, polo, volleyball, handball, pato). An economy that has grown for 10 years without a recession, the only country in the world where you can go from tropical jungle and the world's greatest waterfalls to ice fields and tundra by driving a car (and all landscapes in between), one of the world's great cities as capital, one of the world's greatest wine regions with one of the 8 great wine capitals, great music heritage, the only country in the Americas besides the USA who nearly tripled its land area with succesful conquest... no mass shootings on a daily basis in schools, work offices, no narco-wars, no military tanks going into favelas, no constant students riots, no maras or proffessional gangs like M13, no coups, no major racism, no major anti-semitism, no major anti-islamism, no extremists christans or muslims, full rights for gays, full rights for animals, women fully into government posts...
I've just had about enough of all the lies here about Argentina being the worst at everything. The fact all of you 24/7 non-stop try to spew this mendacity suggest very strongly that the OPPOSITE is true, and that this reality is caustic to your stomachs.
Great post, TTT, for once in your on-line life you've said your piece in simple terms that anyone can understand.
I do have my doubts about the crime rate in the BA conurbano, but otherwise you are spot on!!!!!!
You seem reasonable. Was I overplaying a bit? Yes. I'm not going to say if you ask me objectively we are the best country in the Americas. I actually don't think we are. There are many things I respect from countries like the USA, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, etc.
But I wasn't really lying in the things I said above. Of course, gdp per capita is not where it should be, there are too many Villas in a country of this wealth, and a devastating earthquake can hit Mendoza today. Narco trafficking is a growing issue, both as a country where drugs travel to other markets but sadly increasingly as a consumer of drugs like the wealthier nations.
And I do not agree with the economic policies of CFK from the last 8 months, and I would like for us to be isolationists in international politics.
I tell you these things to demonstrate I can be objective if the person on the other side is reasonable. But 99% of the anti-argies here are not reasonable and resort to EXTREME exaggeration and overstating of our problems, and as such one must respond with an equal opposite force.
you don't have to exaggerate because others do.
Stick to sound and clear argument,
have a little fun,
don't be hurtful,
know when people's arguments are silly and not worthy of refutation,
accept with thanks when others give you better arguments, and
be true to your beliefs and ideals.
Geoff.
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