Development: On 22 June Paraguay’s senate voted to impeach President Fernando Lugo, immediately removing him from office and replacing him with his vice-president, Federico Franco.
Significance: Lugo becomes the first Paraguayan president to be impeached by congress. The process took place in record time: within a 48 hour-period. The speed of the process raised concern, prompting regional leaders to question whether there has been an effective break in the democratic order. Politically, this could result in Paraguay’s temporary suspension and/or expulsion from regional organisations, turning Paraguay into a regional pariah.
Key points:
• In a swift trial, which took place only 24 hours after the impeachment process was approved by congress, the 45-member senate found Lugo guilty of “poor performance of his duties” with 39 votes in favour, four against and three abstentions. The vote met the constitutional requirement that a two thirds majority is needed to impeach a president.
• An hour later, Lugo, whose 2008 general election victory ended the rule of the traditional Asociación Nacional Republicana-Partido Colorado (ANR-PC), which had run Paraguay uninterrupted for 72 years, offered a short speech from the presidential palace in which he recognised the congressional decision to strip him of his office. He said that the decision represented “a blow [‘golpe’], not to Fernando Lugo, but to Paraguay and to democracy”.
• Immediately after, Franco was formally invested as the new President in a ceremony in congress. Franco, who hails from the traditional opposition Partido Liberal Radical Auténtico (PLRA), is the first PLRA president to take office since 1936. He will finish Lugo’s term, which ends in August 2013, following scheduled general elections on 26 April next.
• A mission from the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), which arrived in Asunción on 22 June ahead of the impeachment, issued a communiqué stating that the process may have violated the democracy clauses in the Unasur constitutive treaty “by posing a threat to the democratic order by not respecting due process”. Unasur argues that although the process may have been conducted legally according to the Paraguayan constitution, it was flawed due to its failure to respect international notions of due process.
• Several Unasur member states including Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela have described the process as an “institutional coup d’état” and refused to recognise the Franco government. Argentina, Ecuador and Venezuela have recalled their ambassadors to Asunción in protest. President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela has already imposed sanctions by suspending shipments of oil (crude) to Paraguay. Other Unasur members such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay have expressed concern about the change in power and have recalled their ambassadors for consultations. Ironically, Paraguay holds the pro-tempore presidency of Unasur, which it was due to hand over to Peru in November. Unasur has scheduled an emergency meeting to be held in Lima in coming days and has intimated that it could bring forward Peru’s turn at the helm.
• Paraguay is a founding member of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). Its three partners, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, have now withdrawn their ambassadors and have declared Paraguay temporarily suspended from the group as per Mercosur’s democratic clause. Argentina has said that Paraguay may not attend the upcoming Mercosur heads of state summit, scheduled for this week (27-28 June) in Mendoza. The summiteers will discuss measures against Paraguay.
• Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández is clear that “what happened in Paraguay was undoubtedly a coup”. Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff has recognised that Mercosur has clear “penalties in place” for breaks in the democratic order. Rousseff’s special advisor on international affairs, Marco Aurelio García, said that Brazil condemned the “summary decision” taken by Paraguay’s congress, which has “compromised the fundamental pillar of regional integration, democracy”. Uruguay’s foreign minister, Luis Almagro, said that Lugo’s impeachment had “all the characteristics of a summary judgement” with no “essential guarantees of due process”.
• Franco rejected Paraguay’s suspension from Mercosur, but said that he had no plans to attend the Mendoza summit as it was not the “right time”. In contrast, Lugo, who on 24 June appeared to backtrack from his earlier position to declare that he would challenge the impeachment process, has reconvened his cabinet and says that he intends to attend the summit as the “legitimate” representative of the country.
Pointer: Mexico has recalled its ambassador to Paraguay for consultations. In Central America, Nicaragua and El Salvador refuse to recognise the new government. Further afield, Canada has already recognised the Franco government, along with Spain, Germany and The Holy See.
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