Colombia and Chile ambassadors returned to Paraguay on Sunday after six months absence, the first two members from Unasur in doing so and in practical terms breaking the isolation imposed on the landlocked country following the political crisis which removed Fernando Lugo and had him replaced by current president Federico Franco.
By an overwhelming majority, 36 to 1 and eight absences, the Paraguayan Senate rejected the Unasur Commitment with Democracy Additional Protocol considering it contrary to the sovereign interests of the country and which was the argument used by the regional organization to sanction and suspend Paraguay.
President Hugo Chavez claimed that a small group of Paraguayan lawmakers, manipulated by a “powerful black hand”, are impeding the long-delayed access of Venezuela as full member of Mercosur.
Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo called for the free flow and free access of his country’s goods to Mercosur senior members’ markets and insisted on the energy integration of the block.
Paraguay’s vote in support of Venezuela’s full integration to Mercosur seems more distant than ever as was confirmed by the country’s Senate Foreign Relations committee to Brazilian ambassador Eduardo Dos Santos.