Unasur has scheduled an emergency presidential summit this Friday in Mendoza to generate a joint resolution in response to the political situation in Paraguay.
The meeting coincides with the routine Mercosur summit scheduled to take place this Thursday and Friday, 28th – 29th of June.
Unasur Secretary General Alí Rodríguez Araque stated that heads of state “will analyse the situation, [and] will make decisions – which must be made in consensus and in light of corresponding actions,” as quoted by Radio Programas del Perú.
He added “the focus is on the reestablishment of democratic order in Paraguay” and classified the transition as “a coup.”
In official communication, leaders of both Mercosur and Unasur have condemned the impeachment, criticising the “rupture of democratic order” in Paraguay. Mercosur has already blocked Paraguay from participating in its upcoming summit, including the presidential summit and preliminary meetings.
Former Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo, however, was invited with ‘testimonial’ status to the Mercorsur summit. He had previously stated he would attend the summit, and was expected to attend the Unasur summit.
Late Tuesday afternoon, however, Lugo declared that he would not be in attendance.
“I do not want to make the other presidents feel pressured in analysing the situation of the country,” Lugo stated, as quoted by La Voz del Interior.
Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa had announced plans for an extraordinary Unasur summit in Lima tomorrow, but official announcements today revealed that the summit would be held Friday in Argentina.
Until this weekend, Paraguay held the rotating presidency of Unasur. On Sunday, however, ousted president Lugo passed the leadership to Peru’s president Ollanta Humala.
Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia and Brazil have all either recalled or withdrawn their ambassadors from Paraguay.
Venezuela is the only country to have taken concrete sanctions against Paraguay thus far; yesterday, President Hugo Chávez announced a block on exportations of oil to the country.
Some neighboring countries – including Ecuador and Bolivia – have called for sanctions, while others are calling for greater moderation; Brazil, Chile and Uruguay have stated that they are against sanctions.
Mercosur is comprised of member states Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and associate members Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Unasur is constituted by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
The Organisation of American States also held an extraordinary meeting today in Washington, D.C. The meeting was originally scheduled for tomorrow but was moved forward.
The Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, emphasised that the organization has no intention of interfering in Paraguay.
