'OAS Should Not Suspend Paraguay': Secretary General

Tuesday, Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Jose Insulza delivered his report on his visit to Paraguay, and said that he did not favor suspending the Southern Cone nation from the OAS in reaction to the fast-track trial which resulted in President Fernando Lugo’s impeachment two and a half weeks ago. Doing so would not contribute to the OAS’s objectives, Insulza added, acccording to Mercopress. Suspending Paraguay from the OAS would also have serious economic implications for the country and could put the current situation of relative political stability at risk, the Secretary General said. 

Insulza’s 10-page report was written on the basis of his visit to Paraguay between July 1 to 3. He warned that the OAS should wait before making any decisions until Lugo acts on his pledge to resort to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Most of Insulza’s recommendations involved looking ahead to Paraguay’s national elections in April 2013. The OAS should deploy a mission to observe the process leading up to the presidential and legislative elections, Insulza said.

His strongest criticisms were reserved for how quickly the impeachment process took place, stating, “the speed with which the impeachment was conducted was highly unfortunate and created an aura of illegitimacy.” Nevertheless, the process still technically followed constitutional procedure, he added.

According to the AP, the reaction from other OAS member states to Insulza’s address was mixed. Brazil’s OAS representative said that the institution risked sending the message that “a rupture in the democratic order is considered something trivial.” Venezuela’s representative complained that the OAS’s position was “lukewarm.” Meanwhile, Paraguay’s ambassador urged the institution to accept Insulza’s report.

The OAS’s reaction to Paraguay’s political crisis is in sharp contrast to Mercosur’s, which suspended Paraguay from the organization. But doing so without allowing Paraguay to make a case against its suspension, as mandated in Mercosur’s charter, drains legitimacy from South America’s leading trading bloc, argues Foreign Policy.  “By throwing Paraguay under the bus and extending a welcome mat to Venezuela, Mercosur has made a hash of its own rules on democracy and free trade,” the magazine argues.

The contrast between Mercosur and the OAS’s arguably restrained reaction to the Paraguay crisis points to the controversy over whether Lugo’s removal from power should be considered a “constitutional” coup or not. What is clear is that Insulza seems hesitant to encourage further moves that could increase Paraguay’s isolation from the region.


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