MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivia sacks ambassador to Paraguay over controversial video

Paraguay found Cronenbold's “joke” not to be amusing at all

Bolivia had to sack its Ambassador in Asunción Mario Cronenbold over a controversial TikTok video which resulted in the diplomat being declared “persona non grata” by the Paraguayan Lower House for what was described as a “pseudo xenophobic joke”

The Bolivian Government of President Luis Arce Wednesday announced its decision due to the “diplomatic inconvenience” ignited by the diplomat.

The Bolivian Foreign Ministry issued a statement explaining that Cronenbold had been summoned over to La Paz. “After receiving the report and evaluating the circumstances, Ambassador Cronenbold was removed from his duties on November 1, 2021,” the note said.

The Bolivian authorities also highlighted that this incident “does not affect diplomatic relations” with Paraguay, “which are currently at their highest level, with the expectation of holding the Presidential Meeting and II Meeting of the Bolivia-Paraguay Binational Ministerial Cabinet, for management 2022.″

Cronenbold had shared a TikTok video in which he appeared transforming his voice from the consumption of tereré, a typical Paraguayan infusion, until he spoke Guarani in a shrill voice.

The video upset Paraguayan authorities and people alike, including Carlos Bado, a diplomat who is to take part at the Forum on the Future of Democracy in the Americas. Bado called for his Government to repudiate Cronenbold's ”pseudo xenophobic joke.“

Cronenbold Friday apologized on Twitter ”to those who were offended“ by the video and explained that he only wanted to refer to the good reception he has felt from Paraguayans. ”I am from Santa Cruz, a sister city of Paraguay, there are also populations that speak Guaraní,” he said in a separate Twitter posting.

The apology was not enough and the Paraguayan House of Deputies declared him a persona non grata in the understanding that Cronenbold had harmed cultural values and offended the native language of the nation.

Cronenbold took office as the new Bolivian ambassador to Paraguay on September 28, around which time he published the video which he withdrew after adverse reactions.

The now former ambassador belongs to the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, under which he ran for Governor of Santa Cruz but lost to conservative Luis Fernando Camacho of Creemos.