Paraguayan Senate rejects suspension and entry of Venezuela into Mercosur

The Paraguayan Senate on Thursday rejected all the resolutions adopted at the last summit of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), which resolved the suspension of Paraguay and Venezuela's full entry into the regional bloc.

The Paraguayan Senate expressed this position through a draft declaration that was adopted at its weekly meeting. The lawmakers took a position similar to that adopted by the government of the new president, Federico Franco, EFE reported.

Further, the lawmakers urged the Executive Office to remove the Paraguayan ambassador accredited in Venezuela and expel the Venezuelan military attaches based in Asunción. These measures, however, were already dealt with by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

The senators said in their communiqué that the decision to suspend Paraguay -a founding member- from Mercosur is "illegal, illegitimate and violates due process." They rejected the inclusion of Venezuela as a full member of the regional bloc without the unanimity of all states parties, as quoted by state-run news agency IP Paraguay.