Last year Paraguay was suspended from Mercosur after the impeachment of President Fernando Lugo. Mercosur member countries Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay voted to suspend Paraguay after the presidential impeachment, calling it a ‘congressional coup’ while voting in political bombshell Venezuela to lead the regional union.
Fast-forward one year and Mercosur is ready to let Paraguay into its circle once more, but many of Paraguay’s political figure heads are not ready to forgive Mercosur for booting them out. Rumors have been heard that Paraguay will not join back up with Mercosur, now or in the foreseeable future.
Paraguayan Ambassador Fernando Pfannl Caballero discussed his views on the decision to rejoin Mercosur July 23rd at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC. “Is Paraguay leaving Mercosur?” Pfannl started. “No, Paraguay is not so far leaving Mercosur. It is just a big problem of how we go back into Mercosur.”
Pfannl explained Paraguay’s fears of rejoining with Mercosur, saying, “The fact that you violate your own rules, laws, and norms at one point, makes it very hard for us to consider reentering Mercosur without the necessary guarantees that these types of things will not happen again to a small country like Paraguay.” Pfannl continued, “The whole legality of the system has been broken and we can’t see how they are going to re-establish it.”
Pfannl explained that after last year’s suspension Paraguay feels that its dignity has been abused, and that Mercosur has lost much of its power. “Mercosur is a little bit like humpty dumpty at this point,” Pfannl explained, “it is very hard to put it back together again—if not impossible, from the Paraguayan perspective at least.”
Pfannl is sure that Paraguay will return to Mercosur soon, but this time it will be different. In the last year Paraguay has realized much of its potential in the global market. Its economy is growing much faster than any other country in the region at over 11 percent, and they are seeking bilateral agreements with new countries. “We are currently observers at the Pacific Alliance and we are trying to reach full membership,” Pfannl explained. “We could return to Mercosur having bilateral agreements with other countries such as Mexico or the U.S.”
“We are going to insist with great interest in the bilateral relations; we need to have good relations with all countries,” Pfannl insisted. “We are only asking for the rule of law, for justice. What belongs to Paraguay, to Paraguay, what belongs to Venezuela, to Venezuela.”
“We agree with the idea of a united South America in general, but we are very zealous of our independence and our self-determination,” Pfannl concluded. It is clear that whether it was warranted or not, Paraguay’s suspension from Mercosur allowed it to seek further international and bilateral relations. Paraguay will most likely rejoin Mercosur again soon, but for the time being there is a big open world out there, and Paraguay will not settle with anything less than what it wants.
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Paraguay's Uncertain Future with Mercosur
September 6, 2013
Last year Paraguay was suspended from Mercosur after the impeachment of President Fernando Lugo. Mercosur member countries Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay voted to suspend Paraguay after the presidential impeachment, calling it a ‘congressional coup’ while voting in political bombshell Venezuela to lead the regional union.
Fast-forward one year and Mercosur is ready to let Paraguay into its circle once more, but many of Paraguay’s political figure heads are not ready to forgive Mercosur for booting them out. Rumors have been heard that Paraguay will not join back up with Mercosur, now or in the foreseeable future.
Paraguayan Ambassador Fernando Pfannl Caballero discussed his views on the decision to rejoin Mercosur July 23rd at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC. “Is Paraguay leaving Mercosur?” Pfannl started. “No, Paraguay is not so far leaving Mercosur. It is just a big problem of how we go back into Mercosur.”
Pfannl explained Paraguay’s fears of rejoining with Mercosur, saying, “The fact that you violate your own rules, laws, and norms at one point, makes it very hard for us to consider reentering Mercosur without the necessary guarantees that these types of things will not happen again to a small country like Paraguay.” Pfannl continued, “The whole legality of the system has been broken and we can’t see how they are going to re-establish it.”
Pfannl explained that after last year’s suspension Paraguay feels that its dignity has been abused, and that Mercosur has lost much of its power. “Mercosur is a little bit like humpty dumpty at this point,” Pfannl explained, “it is very hard to put it back together again—if not impossible, from the Paraguayan perspective at least.”
Pfannl is sure that Paraguay will return to Mercosur soon, but this time it will be different. In the last year Paraguay has realized much of its potential in the global market. Its economy is growing much faster than any other country in the region at over 11 percent, and they are seeking bilateral agreements with new countries. “We are currently observers at the Pacific Alliance and we are trying to reach full membership,” Pfannl explained. “We could return to Mercosur having bilateral agreements with other countries such as Mexico or the U.S.”
“We are going to insist with great interest in the bilateral relations; we need to have good relations with all countries,” Pfannl insisted. “We are only asking for the rule of law, for justice. What belongs to Paraguay, to Paraguay, what belongs to Venezuela, to Venezuela.”
“We agree with the idea of a united South America in general, but we are very zealous of our independence and our self-determination,” Pfannl concluded. It is clear that whether it was warranted or not, Paraguay’s suspension from Mercosur allowed it to seek further international and bilateral relations. Paraguay will most likely rejoin Mercosur again soon, but for the time being there is a big open world out there, and Paraguay will not settle with anything less than what it wants.
