Garcia: Decision on Venezuela was unanimous.
Special advisor to the Presidency of the Republic for international affairs, Marco Aurélio Garcia, denies that Uruguay opposed Venezuela's entry into Mercosur, as stated by Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro; the advisor says he spoke with President Mujica to confirm the position.
blog do plateau - The special advisor to the Presidency of the Republic for international affairs, Marco Aurélio Garcia, stated today (2) that Venezuela's entry into Mercosur was a unanimous decision by the presidents of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, Argentina, Cristina Kirchner, and Uruguay, José Mujica, during a meeting of the bloc held last Friday (29) in Mendoza, Argentina.
"We did not put pressure on any country, especially since it is not President Dilma Rousseff's style to exert pressure. The decision was made by the three presidents; it was a unanimous decision, a decision that reflected a political consensus. Therefore, the claim that we would exert any kind of pressure on any government is unfounded," the advisor stated.
According to Garcia, the decision taken during the Mercosur Heads of State Summit to suspend Paraguay until April 2013, when presidential elections are held in that country, and to approve Venezuela's entry into the bloc was strongly supported by legal criteria. The advisor also denied reports of alleged pressure from Brazil on Uruguay to allow Venezuela's entry into Mercosur.
"The decision to include Venezuela starting July 31st was proposed by President Mujica. I spoke with him a little while ago and he confirmed not only that, but also that this will be Uruguay's position. So I wanted to make that clear. From our side, there was no imposition or pressure. This does not correspond to the style of Brazilian foreign policy, and even less so to that of the president," said Garcia.
Regarding Paraguay's suspension from the bloc, Garcia stated that the sanctions will be purely political. According to him, there will be no economic sanctions against Paraguay, and all commitments within the bloc will be maintained, including the financing of the construction of a power transmission line between Itaipu and Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. Garcia also said that the Brazilian government appreciated Venezuela's decision to maintain oil supplies to Paraguay.