The Government of Paraguay announced Friday that it will be seeking an international arbitrage within the South American Common Market (Mercosur) to settle the dispute with Argentina over the charging of tolls to barges sailing through the Paraná River Waterway.
Citing security concerns and possible drug trafficking, Argentine authorities have upped their controls on Paraguayan barges sailing through the Paraná River, it was reported in Buenos Aires.
Conrado Ferber, President of the National Meat Institute (INAC) of Uruguay, expressed his concerns on Tuesday regarding Minerva Foods' proposed acquisition of three meat processing plants from Marfrig. If the deal is finalized, it would result in one of the Brazilian multinational corporations controlling 45% of the southern country slaughterhouse market.
Paraguay's recently instated president, Santiago Peña said he will continue engaging in dialogue with Argentina to reach a resolution regarding toll charges on the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway. “We do not deny the option of toll charges, but it should be an agreement among the five countries that use the waterway,” he asserted.
Two-time former Uruguayan President Julio María Sanguinetti Tuesday praised Paraguayan President Santiago Peña's stance regarding the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), which would need a major overhaul. Paraguay, a major world food producer but landlocked, is a member of Mercosur along with Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
Economist Santiago Peña of the National Republican Assembly (ANR) also known as the Colorado Party is to be sworn in Tuesday as Paraguay's new head of state during a ceremony in Asunción which will be attended by several former and current Latin American leaders such as Argentina's Alberto Fernández; Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva and Uruguay's Luis Lacalle Pou, Chile's Gabriel Boric Font and Bolivia's Luis Arce Catacora.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Monday visited former Paraguayan head of state Fernando Lugo while in Asunción for Santiago Peña's inauguration Tuesday.
By Julieta Heduvan (*) – Santiago Peña assumes Paraguay’s presidency this Tuesday August 15 with a number of advantages, including a supportive Congress. But he faces also numerous challenges, as he tries to unite his party, manage the influence of his political mentor—businessman and former President Horacio Cartes—and handle international negotiations, from the Itaipú accord to U.S. sanctions against Paraguayan politicians.
Paraguay President-elect Santiago Peña has said that Mercosur and the European Union should put on hold talks over a free trade agreement since the current environmental demands from the EU are “unacceptable.”
Agricultural producers in the Salto area have been reported to hire Argentine labor from Concordia just across the border and pay them three times less than they would local workers, Uruguay's National Union of Salaried, Rural, and Related Workers (Unión Nacional de Asalariados, Trabajadores Rurales y Afines - Unatra) denounced.