MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mercosur Montevideo 23 August meeting to decide sanctions on Venezuela

Paraguay's deputy minister Gauto has said Venezuela has not complied with 200 rules, regulations and protocols it should have completed on 12 August deadline

The coordinators of Mercosur founding members will decide next 23 August at a meeting in Montevideo on the legal measures to be applied on Venezuela, which self proclaimed itself the presidency of the group and is also questioned for not complying with the rules and regulations to be incorporated to the group. In that case Venezuela could lose its full member status.

 At the end of July when Uruguay devolved its six-month Mercosur presidency, the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro self-proclaimed the rotating pro tempore position, triggering an unprecedented situation in the South American block.

Apparently on 23 August coordinators will be convened to continue with the 4 August meeting in recess, in Montevideo, to find a way out to the situation created by Venezuela's self proclamation. Paraguay and Brazil are determined to go ahead while Argentina is less intense on the issue and Uruguay is blamed for having created the special situation.

According to Paraguay's deputy foreign minister Rigoberto Gauto, Venezuela has not complied with 200 rules, regulations and protocols it should have completed on the 12 August deadline as has been agreed four years back, in 2012 when the country was incorporated to the group. Thus on 23 August the coordinators will elaborate a full report on the situation.

Brazil has rejected Venezuela's self proclaimed presidency describing the post as vacant, while Paraguay argues it is a “de facto” occupation of the presidency.

Argentina argues that the transfer of Mercosur presidency is not automatic, “never has been, there has always been a Mercosur Council meeting for the event, including a full report from the rotating chair handing over the position. It is at that precise moment that transfer takes place”, said Susana Malcorra.

“Unfortunately Uruguay's decision to abandon the presidency on a given date via a letter has put us in a very difficult situation, there has been no transfer, but it has been assumed there was such a transfer. We have a vacuum in Mercosur which is bad for the group's standing in the region and internationally”, added the Argentine minister.

Malcorra also said that Venezuela's foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez has a very strong conviction as to her country's presidency of Mercosur. “She's strong, passionate and a convinced defender of Venezuela perspective, I'm not going to get involved in a confrontation dialogue, because I insist my major concern is the world's vision of Mercosur”.

Paraguayan foreign minister Eladio Loizaga sent a letter to his colleagues referred to the different steps undertaken by the group, in accepting the incorporation of Venezuela. It was first subscribed in Caracas in July 2006 and finally confirmed on December 2013, but the previous step was the political acceptance vote in June 2012, when Paraguay had been suspended.