Brazilian official regrets Paraguay did not follow the path of Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia [View all]

[ocpagu]

Brazilian international affairs advisor Marco Aurelio Garcia admits the incorporation of Venezuela to Mercosur was done without Paraguay’s approval and argues the downfall of Fernando Lugo was because of his political incapacity to follow on the steps of other countries with strong popular support such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador

n an article written for the latest edition of Brazil’s Foreign Policy magazine, Marco Aurelio argues that “Mercosur is equal to minus Paraguay plus positive Venezuela” and analyzes recent Paraguayan politics basically affirming that former president Lugo ‘won the elections but never had control of power’.

“Power is not a place that can simply be taken over as the Latinamerican left believed for some time. Power is the expression of a co-relation of forces that encloses economic, social, political and cultural factors and to alter this co-relation is not enough to reach government, and least to a part of it as happened in Paraguay. You need ideas and instruments to mobilize people capable of building a change and a transforming project”, argues the advisor to President Dilma Rousseff and her political mentor and former president Lula da Silva.

Marco Aurelio points out that the avalanche of social and political changes which South America has undergone in the last fifteen years opened three possible paths to ensure governance to the presidents involved, and then questioning the removed Paraguayan president (and former bishop). He underlines that Lugo was unable to build ‘a new order’ similar to that which was successful in other countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador by their presidents.

“In a country where there was an automatic correspondence between the vote for the Executive and the Legislative, the president had to ensure a congressional majority based on program accords and the conformation of a ministerial cabinet that reflected a hegemonic coalition”, points out Marco Aurelio.

Read more:
http://en.mercopress.com/2013/07/15/brazilian-official-regrets-paraguay-did-not-follow-the-path-of-venezuela-ecuador-and-bolivia