Subject: URGENT - coup d'état IN PARAGUAY
Norma Mtz ✆
pwithou...@yahoo.com 12:28 AM (23 hours ago) -6-23-12
We just uploaded a Special radio show on the coup d'etat in Paraguay.
It includes portions of the so-called political trial (impeachment) on the Senate floor, the farewell speech by president Fernando Lugo, the street protest and police repression against the popular movement.
Also, reactions from the presidents of UNASUR (Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, and Cristina Fernandez of Argentina) as well as analysis by Latin-American Expert James Petras, Spanish journalist and co-founder of the digital newspaper "Rebelion," Pascual Serrano, and more.
If you understand Spanish please listen to the show on our blog
And later today, the same blog will have available an- hour long show (El Sur en el Norte) with more details about the coup d tat in Paraguay.
Best.
Pueblos Sin Fronteras/Peoples Without Borders Radio Collective.
San Pedro Sula HONDURAS VIVE LA GENTE VIVE
Tom Baker here with updates on Paraguay
- School of the Americas Watch notes that HUGE tracts of land
were like given away by the dictator Stroesser during his lengthy
and brutal regime, that is, STOLEN, the campesino families displaced,
communities disrupted, a frequent pattern with which we become familiar
as we study economics and politics of Oligarchy in the Americas
- A coup is taking place right now – Friday afternoon – in Paraguay.
That is how it has been described by a number of neighboring governments.
And the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) is treating it as such –
and taking it very seriously
- “It seems that the Paraguayan opposition is attempting to
roll back short-lived institutions and principles of democracy,”
Weisbrot said.
“Impeachment is a legal procedure
under Paraguay’s constitution;
but this is not impeachment. There is no due process – this is a coup.”
International Community Should Defend Democratic Government in Paraguay From Coup Attempt, CEPR Co-Director Says
“Opposition Attempting a Coup – Removal of the President Without Due Process”
For Immediate Release: June 22, 2012
Contact: Dan Beeton,
202-239-1460Washington, D.C.- The international community should stand by Paraguay’s democratic institutions and against the coup attempt being perpetrated by President Fernando Lugo’s opponents in the Congress, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) Co-Director Mark Weisbrot said today. Paraguayan opposition members of Congress, led by the right wing Colorado party, have filed five charges of impeachment against Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, but are not allowing him adequate time to defend himself from removal.
“It seems that the Paraguayan opposition is attempting to roll back short-lived institutions and principles of democracy,” Weisbrot said. “Impeachment is a legal procedure under Paraguay’s constitution; but this is not impeachment. There is no due process – this is a coup.”
Paraguay’s Congress gave Lugo less than 24 hours to prepare his defense against impeachment, and only two hours to present it. “I don’t see how anyone in the world could call that due process,” said Weisbrot. “Not to mention that the accusers did not provide evidence for any impeachable offenses.”
The charges center on a clash over land – owned by a Colorado party politician - between landless workers and the police which left over 17 people dead. Lugo’s opponents in the Congress have not presented evidence for his responsibility for the deaths, however, and Lugo’s calls for an investigation into the events have gone unanswered.
Foreign Ministers from each of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) member countries have traveled to Asunción to meet with the President of the Congress, and UNASUR officials have warned that they would potentially break in relations with Paraguay were Lugo to be ousted without due process and a new government emerges.
The U.S. response so far has been tepid. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the political situation should be resolved in accordance with the constitution.
“The Obama administration should support UNASUR’s efforts to preserve democracy in Paraguay, and oppose this coup attempt,” Weisbrot said.
###
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South America Responds to Coup In Paraguay
By Mark Weisbrot
This article was published in The Guardian (UK) on June 22, 2012. If anyone wants to reprint it, please include a link to the original.
A coup is taking place right now – Friday afternoon – in Paraguay. That is how it has been described by a number of neighboring governments. And the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) is treating it as such – and taking it very seriously. All 12 foreign ministers (including those of Brazil and Argentina, who are deeply concerned) flew to Asunción last night to meet with the government as well as the opposition in Paraguay’s Congress.
The Congress of Paraguay is trying to oust the President, Fernando Lugo – in an impeachment proceeding in which he was given less than 24 hours to prepare and only two hours to present a defense. It appears that the decision (to convict) has already been written, and will be presented today at 20:30 GMT. It would be impossible to call this due process under any circumstances, but it is also a clear violation of Article 17 of Paraguay’s constitution, which provides for
the right to an adequate defense.
The politics of the situation are pretty clear. Paraguay was controlled for 61 years by the right-wing Colorado Party. For most of this time (1947-1989) it was a dictatorship. Lugo, a former Catholic Bishop from the tradition of liberation theology who had fought for the rights of the poor, was elected in 2008 but did not win much of the Congress. He put together a coalition government but the right – including the media – never really accepted his presidency.
I met Fernando Lugo in early 2009 and was impressed with his patience and long-term strategy. He said that given the strength of the institutions aligned against him, he did not expect to gain all that much in the present; he was fighting so that the next generation could have a better life. But his opposition was ruthless. In November of 2009 he had to fire his top military officers because of credible reports
that they were conspiring with the political opposition.
The main trigger for the impeachment is an armed clash between peasants fighting for land rights with police, which left at least 17 dead, including 7 police. The land in dispute was claimed by the landless workers to have been illegally obtained by a Colorado Party politician. But this is obviously just a pretext, as it is clear that the President had no responsibility for what happened – and Lugo’s opponents have not presented any evidence for their charges in today’s “trial.” President Lugo proposed an investigation to find out what happened in the incident; but the opposition was not interested – they wanted to shoot first and ask questions later.
Lugo’s election was one of many – Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador – in which left governments were elected over the past 14 years, changing the
political geography of the hemisphere, and especially in South America. With that came increasing political unity on regional issues – and especially in confronting the United States, which had previously prevented left governments from coming to power or governing.
So it is not surprising to see the immediate and urgent response by South America to this coup attempt, which they see as a threat to their democracies. UNASUR Secretary General Ali Rodriguez insisted Lugo must be given "due process" and the right to defend himself. President Rafael Correa said that UNASUR could refuse to recognize the next government – in accordance with a democracy clause in UNASUR’s charter.
Correa was also one of the staunchest opponents of the coup three years ago in Honduras, which ousted democratic left President Mel Zelaya. Honduras continues to suffer from extreme violence, including the murder of journalists and political opponents,
under the regime that was established under the coup.
The Honduras coup was a turning point for relations between the U.S. and Latin America, as governments including Brazil and Argentina, which had previously hoped that President Obama would depart from the policies of his predecessor were rudely disappointed. The Obama administration made conflicting statements about the coup, and then – in opposition to the rest of the hemisphere – did everything that it could to make sure that the coup succeeded. This included blocking efforts by South America, within the OAS, to restore democracy in Honduras. At the latest Summit of the Americas, Obama – in contrast to the Summit of early 2009 – was as isolated as was George W. Bush.
The Obama administration has responded to the current crisis in Paraguay with a statement in support of due process. Perhaps they have learned something from Honduras and will not actively oppose efforts
by South America to support democracy this time. And certainly South America will not allow Washington to hijack any mediation process, if there is one, as Hillary Clinton did with the OAS in Honduras. But Washington can still play its traditional role by assuring the opposition that the new government will have support, including financial and military, from Washington. We will see what happens.
It remains to be seen what more UNASUR will do to oppose the right-wing coup in Paraguay. It is certainly understandable that they see it as a threat to regional democracy and stability.
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Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, in Washington, D.C. He is also president of Just Foreign Policy.
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Alert for the Possibility of an Institutional Coup
A Call for Respect for Paraguayan Democracy and Sovereignty
1 - SOA WATCH would like to express its concern for and rejection of the impeachment of President Fernando Lugo that the Congress of Paraguay set into motion in a matter of hours after the president rejected their requests of resignation.
2 -The accusations against President Lugo in regard to the deaths of seven police and nine landless farmers in the Canindeyu province last Friday do not sufficiently show that the president had direct responsibility in this matter. (Lisa;s note: The land where the conflict took place was owned by a wealthy businessman who is also a political opponent of Mr Lugo, According to the Paraguayan Truth Commission, 6.75 million hectares of land were sold or handed over under "irregular circumstances" during the 1954-1989 military rule) This situation is lamentable and should be investigated, with attention to the social injustice and right to land that are behind this conflict.
3. We regret that the Paraguayan Congress is not looking for real solutions to the social conflicts but is using the situation to promote a political crisis in Paraguay. We believe that a serious and democratic legislative branch should invite all social actors to debate how to create a more inclusive democracy in Paraguay with attention to social justice.
4. We call upon UNASUR and the OAS to reject the claims of the Paraguayan Congress to attempt to overthrow a president who has been elected by the sovereign vote of the Paraguayan people.
5. We join other organizations in Latin America in being on alert and in mobilizing the defense of democracy in Paraguay.
Read more statements of solidarity (in Spanish) here
SOA Watch activante Maia Rodriguez (arrested for her nonviolent actions to close the SOA on April 16), SOA Watch Latin America Liaison Lisa Sullivan and SOA Watch Founder Fr Roy Bourgeois will be meeting with social movements and government officials in Ecuador to urge President Correa to withdraw his troops from the SOA/WHINSEC. Stay tuned for updates!
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