MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan industry lobby says forget Mercosur, calls for talks with Pacific Alliance

EduardoFilippo warns about the “outdated Socialism”

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.

Filippo said that Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay are not the only options for Paraguay and underlined the prospects of the new regional block, Pacific Alliance made up of Colombia, Chile, Peru and Mexico, “countries with which we can establish trade negotiations”.

“Currently Paraguay is among the world’s leading producers of soy and beef, actually we are among the top ten, and the whole world needs these commodities” said Filippo following a meeting with President Federico Franco in Government House.

“The ideological decision that is prevalent in Mercosur impedes manufacturing in Paraguay from working in peace and harmony”.

However Filippo admitted that so far sanctions applied on Paraguay during the recent Mercosur summit in Mendoza have not meant ‘economic losses’.

But he warned that the outdated Socialism some parties are interested in introducing in Paraguay, come from sectors close to the removed President (Fernando Lugo) and his administration.

“I’ve never seen a president from a liberal ideology trying to convince other countries or haranguing the Armed Forces so that they change sides”, underlined Filippo.

The Paraguayan Foreign ministry released a communiqué in which it argues that the decision adopted by Mercosur suspending the country and incorporating Venezuela as full member  lacks all formal and material validity and will thus promote “the actions needed to leave them exposed as such”.

The Paraguayan government argues that suspending Paraguay from all activities in Mercosur “despite invoking the Ushuaia Protocol on Democratic Commitment, was adopted without having taking into account what is determined in Article 4 of the Protocol which demands ‘mandatory consultations with the state involved’”.

Since there was no consultation process with the Paraguayan Republic “the decision is not only illegal but illegitimate and violates the principle of due process”, says the foreign ministry release.

Therefore the Mercosur adopted decision has no formal or material validity and the government of Paraguay “will promote the necessary actions to leave it without effect”.

Furthermore in Paraguay there has been no rupture of the democratic order, on the contrary “democratic institutions are in full exercise and so are fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed as foreseen in Articles 1 and 2 of the Ushuaia Protocol”.