MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Paraguay considers consulting the people whether “to continue or not in Mercosur”
Paraguay’s government blasted Mercosur decision of incorporating Venezuela as a full member of the bloc “before finishing the legislative procedure to do so” and did not discard the possibility of having the Paraguayan people “decide whether to remain or not in Mercosur”. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesSure, and should they vote yes, Paraguay can always use their senate to overthrow the decision....
Jul 02nd, 2012 - 05:17 am - Link - Report abuse 0I'd like to thank the Paraguayan elite though, after 5 years of effective door closing, they made Venezuelas incorporation to Mercosur happen, almost as fast as.... well, a Paraguayan trial :)
Gosh Guzz, fancy letting the people decide in that democratic way.
Jul 02nd, 2012 - 06:15 am - Link - Report abuse 0Why are people like yourself so afraid of democracy? Why do these fellow South American governments not like the fact that Paraguay acted within their constitution by impeaching their former President? Are they afraid that the same will happen to them.
I believe it is shameful how the other members of Mercosur have acted towards Paraguay, and now they are trying to bully them.
Well I hope that Paraguay gives the US a green light to build a huge military base in their country, and I hope they cede from Mercosur and join the Pacific Alliance instead.
Nobody is trying to bully Paraguay, they offered their own democratically chosen President two hours to defend himself before they impeached him.
Jul 02nd, 2012 - 06:29 am - Link - Report abuse 0Mercosur and Unasur acted correctly, you don't give any rupture of democracy time to explain itself. If you don't like the democratically elected President, fine, live with it. If he is guilty of mischarge, let a court decide. In proper manners, not just in paperworks. Two hours to prepare his defence is a disgrace and a total disrespect of human intelligence.
Venezuela entering through the back door is a nice twist of the situation, it just turned into a win-win for Mercosur...
CFKlers call it a “nice twist of the situation”, for the rest of the world, who can add 1+1, it's just a primitive stitch-up to include Venezuela and get rid of Paraguays veto against Ven.
Jul 02nd, 2012 - 09:30 am - Link - Report abuse 0But it's right... It's the best for everybody. Paraguay can leave the leftist clique and Mercosur continues to dig it's own grave, if it's their own will.
Mercosur has become a joke... initially founded as an economic free zone between it's members, they are more protectionist and bitch against each other . Totally laughable fail...
3 Guzz (#)
Jul 02nd, 2012 - 03:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Where do you get the idea that an impeachment prodedure is a trial?
The form of impeachment is spelled out in the Paraguayan Constitution, nowhere does it speak of the right to defense, this is because it is an administrative procedure not a penal one. The object of an impeachment is the same as a vote of “no confidence” where the representatives of the people remove the person in whom they've lost confidence so that that person can do no more damage. If the person involved has broken the law he/she will be tried by the judiciary, if not he/she will not be able to put themselves up for an elective post in the future.
Following the dictates of the Constitution is called DEMOCRACY, Argentina and the other South American countries involved in UNASUR and Mercosur should understand this.
The best thing for Paraguay, and incidentally Uruguay, is to leave Mercosur as quickly as possible and join up with the Pacific Alliance, or create an Atlantic Alliance, and leave Bolivarianosur to strangle on its own ineptitude.
What Simon says is totally correct. In most parliamentary democracies, an impeachment is a democratic procedure, to remove a President or Chancelor, in case he does not receive the sufficient trust from the mayority of elected parlamentarians.
Jul 03rd, 2012 - 09:19 am - Link - Report abuse 0By no means this has to be set equal to a penal judgment. Of course CFK is trying to make this up, because she's terribly afraid, that this could happen to her and she would have to take responsability for her disastrous government.
Basically the elite want for their own selfish ends to keep Paraguay a backward society of landless peasants with no rights or prospects, and some of the right wingers on here seem to think this is a model of democracy!
Jul 03rd, 2012 - 11:57 am - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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