Paraguay's new government ordered home its ambassador in Venezuela after accusing President Hugo Chávez government of meddling in an attempt to avert the impeachment of the Paraguayan president last month.
The crisis triggered by the removal of Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo has spilt over the borders of the country and has turned into a regional controversy that threatens to become a huge headache for Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff according to the weekly magazine Istoé, one of the two with largest circulation in Brazil.
Brazil’s conservative but influential daily O Estado de Sao Paulo dedicated the main Tuesday editorial to the Mercosur suspension of Paraguay and the entrance of Venezuela arguing that what happened at the group’s summit in Mendoza was “a coup against” the block.
“It’s a major institutional blow, maybe the most serious in the 21 years of Mercosur” said Uruguayan Vice president Danilo Astori in direct reference to the group’s decision to incorporate Venezuela with the approval of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and the absence of Paraguay.
The Uruguayan government said that it accepted the incorporation of Venezuela as full member of Mercosur as part of a “negotiation” in which it demanded no economic sanctions on Paraguay and that is why “the last word has not been said” on the issue.
President Federico Franco announced in a press conference that if Paraguay is suspended from Mercosur the country will feel free to look for other trade agreements and international relations.
Mercosur will not impose economic sanctions on Paraguay despite concerns over the ousting of the country's president, officials said on Thursday evening at the summit taking place in Mendoza, Argentina.
Besides the Mercosur summit, the Argentine city of Mendoza will also be hosting on Friday an emergency meeting from the Union of South American nations to discuss Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo’s swift removal and replacement by a government which has triggered strong resistance in the continent.
The removal of Fernando Lugo from the Paraguayan Executive office was legal, said Brazilian former president and Senator Fernando Collor, quoted by O’Globo. He insisted there was “no coup”.
United States strongly supports the Organization of American States Council decision to send a top level delegation to Paraguay headed by Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza, said on Wednesday US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland during the daily briefing.