MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela’s Mercosur incorporation hostage of Argentine/Paraguay conflict

President Lugo “strangled” by the Argentine boycott on fluvial trade

Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo for the second time in a year withdrew the request from Congress for the approval of Venezuela’s incorporation as a full member of Mercosur. This leaves the issue for next year.

“The Executive request has been withdrawn from the Senate because we know we don’t have the votes to support the Venezuelan incorporation to Mercosur” said Senator Carlos Filizzola from the ruling coalition.

“Next year we will continue to work with members of the opposition to have the Venezuelan people and not precisely the figure of their president (Hugo Chavez), fully incorporated to Mercosur”, added Filizzola

However in spite of President Lugo’s back-step, other points of a much worked government-opposition understanding reached in Congress for a positive vote in the Senate on the Venezuela issue continue to be implemented, including the naming of ambassadors and key posts in the administration and different branches of government, (Supreme Court, Attorney’s Office, Electoral Office).-

Until earlier this week the Liberal party, once the backbone of the atomized catch-all coalition that had President Lugo elected, and a splinter group, Unace, from the main Colorado opposition party had mathematically ensured the needed 23 out of 45 seats plus some spare ones for the crucial vote.

The Paraguayan press also reported that in the best style of President Hugo Chavez, a suitcase with an ‘incentive prize’ had been deposited in an Argentine bank and was waiting once the vote had been taken on the floor: four million US dollars for the Liberals and two million for Unace.

Venezuela’s incorporation rests on the Paraguayan vote since the other full members lawmakers (Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil in that order) have already approved the proposal.

What when wrong then? Next week Mercosur is holding its summit in Foz de Iguazu, when Brazil officially hands the group’s rotating chair to Paraguay.

However landlocked Paraguay has warned President Lugo will not attend unless a boycott on Paraguayan maritime and fluvial agencies by Argentine maritime unions is solved in a positive manner for Asunción.

It is estimated that more than 7.000 containers have been stranded in the port of Buenos Aires for over a month because of the conflict, strangling the country’s foreign trade.

Argentine unions and the administration of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner claim the conflict is a “labour dispute” and therefore the boycott.

However Paraguayan maritime and fluvial agencies and labour unions deny any “labour dispute” and attribute the boycott to Argentina’s attempt to take full trade and transport control of the main water ways leading to Paraguay, Bolivia and inland Brazil: the rivers Parana and Paraguay.

To the official Paraguayan protest Argentine maritime unions replied Wednesday with a five-day truce and the administration of President Cristina Kirchner has invited both sides of the dispute to the Labour Ministry controversies office in Buenos Aires next week.

Paraguay argues that it is an International law issue and under the Mercosur charter Argentina is obliged to guarantee the free flow of goods and products.

The latest news are that following the strong stand from Paraguay, which had also summoned the ambassadors of Mercosur full members to inform them of the situation, loaded trucks with cargo for and from Paraguay have been delayed for hours at some border crossings with Argentina with queues up to seven kilometres long.

With limited or no fluvial traffic, land transport is crucial for Paraguay and the head of Argentina’s powerful unions’ confederation and very close ally of President Cristina Kirchner, Hugo Moyano is also the teamsters’ leader.

In other words there is not enough evidence to believe that the positive vote in the Paraguayan congress on the Venezuelan incorporation (as had been agreed) will not become effective. It has been delayed several years, a few months more is no difference.

But President Lugo can’t show up smiling at the Mercosur summit victim of a month-long fluvial and maritime boycott that in spite of low profile diplomacy has not advanced much based on current events.

On Thursday the Paraguayan congress unanimously approved a declaration in full institutional support of Foreign Affairs minister Hector Lacognata efforts in defence “of our sovereignty”.

The declaration calls for a return to normal export and import produce (fluvial) traffic as well as a stabilization of the country’s foreign trade and national economy “in defence of our sovereignty”.

“The (Argentine maritime) unions are acting with the accomplice support of the Argentine government”, claimed before the lawmakers the president of Paraguay’s Centre of Fluvial and Maritime vessels owners, Guillermo Eherecke.

The declaration finally approves President Fernando Lugo’s decision not to attend the XL Mercosur presidential summit December 16 and 17 in Foz de Iguazú.