Brazilian Foreign minister Antonio Patriota again supported the access of Venezuela as full member of Mercosur and the suspension of Paraguay, which he described as a clear message for all those possible “anti-democratic adventures”.
The Argentine ambassador in London Alicia Castro said that South America has reached such a degree of unity that it is possible to think “on the defence of Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas in regional terms”.
Uruguayan Vice president Danilo Astori openly clashed with President Jose Mujica over the recent decision to incorporate Venezuela to Mercosur arguing it was “the deepest institutional injury” suffered by the block and questioned the concept that the juridical “has to be at the service of the political”.
The president of the Paraguayan Industrial Union Eduardo Filippo said it was essential for the country to establish negotiations outside Mercosur, following the suspension from the group by the remaining three members allegedly because of the rupture of the democratic order.
President Hugo Chavez said he will be attending at the end of July the coming Mercosur meeting in Brasil when Venezuela will officially become the group’s fifth full member, a decision that has proved controversial and exposed differences inside the Common Market of the South.
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica proposed to its South American peers to blend Mercosur and Unasur into an only group, according to an interview with a Uruguayan weekly in which he also ratified his commitment with Venezuela (and its oil resources) to justify the incorporation of the fifth full member of Mercosur.
The European Commission has said it will continue negotiations on an association agreement with Mercosur even if Venezuela finally becomes a full member of the group and will address the issue on a “region to region” basis.
Even when Uruguayan president Jose Mujica assumed full responsibility for the controversial support suspending Paraguay and embracing Venezuela during the Mercosur summit, other details of events have emerged with Uruguayan ambassador Guillermo Pomi in Argentina, allegedly playing a crucial role.
Brazil’s conservative but influential daily O Estado de Sao Paulo dedicated the main Tuesday editorial to the Mercosur suspension of Paraguay and the entrance of Venezuela arguing that what happened at the group’s summit in Mendoza was “a coup against” the block.
“It’s a major institutional blow, maybe the most serious in the 21 years of Mercosur” said Uruguayan Vice president Danilo Astori in direct reference to the group’s decision to incorporate Venezuela with the approval of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and the absence of Paraguay.