MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay's Lugo in Brazil to demand “electricity fair deal”

Can you spare a few millions for a humble fryar?

Paraguay's new President Fernando Lugo visited Brazil Wednesday with the purpose of launching talks on a deal to give the landlocked country a fairer share of the revenue for the electricity generated by a huge dam built across the two countries border.

Despite stiff Brazilian resistance to changes in the distribution of power and profits from the Itaipu dam, (South America's largest), with contract terms dating back to the seventies when both countries were ruled by military dictatorships, Lugo said Brazilian President Lula da Silva is willing to debate the issue. "Who said you can't change a treaty?'' Lugo told reporters in Sao Paulo before heading to Brasilia to meet Lula da Silva. "I believe you can change anything when there's a will, when it doesn't fit the challenges of the modern world.'' According to the Itaipu treaty, Brazil and Paraguay share 50/50% the 14.000 MW electricity generated but the second poorest country of the region satisfies its demand with only 5% of the volume, and under contract must sell the rest to its senior partner. And for this Brazil pays annually 300 million US dollars, at 1970s prices. During his electoral campaign Lugo said the price must be reviewed and increased to the correct value in the range of 2 billion US dollars, which Brazil rejects. That energy, plus Brazil's Itaipu share, provides Latin America's largest economy with 20% of its electrical power.