Significance: Somu, an Argentine workers' union, was accused by Paraguayan businesses of creating a 'ghost' union, Sindicato de Obreros Marítimos Unidos del Paraguay (Somupa), in order to impose their demands on Paraguayan companies and establish their dominance over the shared waterway. Rejecting the commercial blockade imposed by a fellow Southern Common Market (Mercosur) member country, the Paraguayan authorities on 8 Decembber threatened not to attend the Mercosur presidential summit in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, this week (16-17 December), where Paraguay is scheduled to take over the pro tempore presidency of the bloc.
That drastic measure, announced by Paraguay's foreign minister, Héctor Lacognata, on 8 December, seems to have paid off. Nonetheless, it also exposed serious tensions within Mercosur which by no means look easy to resolve. Initially, it seemed that Argentina would not get involved, after the Argentine ambassador in Asunción , Rafael Romá, declared that the dispute “was between unions and not between governments". However, after Somu received support from the International Transport Workers' Federation, and then called on trade unions from the other Mercosur countries (Brazil and Uruguay) to join the blockade, a high ranking Brazilian diplomat hinted that there would be a quick resolution.
On 10 December, the undersecretary general for South America, Central America and the Caribbean at the Brazilian foreign office, Antonio Simíµes, said he had no doubt that Paraguay would attend the upcoming summit. Simíµes commented that “he had information that a solution was on its way". The fact that just days later an apparent solution to the problem, promoted by the Argentine government, has been reached, underlines Brazil's influence within Mercosur.
Télam stated that Somu leaders met with officials from the Buenos Aires government on Monday (13 December) to resolve the dispute as per a Paraguayan government request. The report also noted that Mercosur would analyse "reported asymmetries" in the Paraná-Paraguay basin.
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