Paraguay’s massacre and putsch, a month later

One month after he was ousted in a congressional coup with only a thin veneer of “democracy” (note the quotes), President Lugo continues his fight for real democracy and justice by denouncing the perpetrators who conspired against him:

Paraguay is divided between democrats and putschists, said President Fernando Lugo on Saturday. He was ousted on June 22 after a quickie political trial orchestrated by the Congress.

Before hundreds of members of the Paraguayan resistance, in the city of María Auxiliadora, in the department of Itaipú, Lugo said that the government of Federico Franco could not construct a democracy in Paraguay without the support of the people, according to a local daily, Ultima Hora.

The leader, who was toppled by the Paraguayan right, underscored the fact that the arguments of the political trial against him were against the democratic protocol of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), known as Ushuaia II, and said: “The putschists don’t like democracy.”

He insisted that the massacre in Curuguaty, one of the causes used by the congress in the trial, was prepared by putschists with the help of snipers.

“This president wanted to investigate, while the first action of this illegitimate government was to toss the investigation aside because it didn’t want to know or make known the truth of what occurred,” Lugo said.

Lugo recounted that during his reign, more than 100 evictions were conducted peacefully, but in the case of Curuguaty, the action was done by “merchants of death”.

Lugo said that when putschists talk of sovereignty, they are defending the interests of only a few, particularly the business class, which have been freed from paying taxes, while at the same time being the primary beneficiaries of the riches of the land.

Translation mine.

Meanwhile, even in crisis-torn Europe, where capitalism is just coming down from its orgasm after raping its way through the very countries least able to resist, the antidemocratic move has not gone unnoticed, or unremarked:

German Europarliament deputy Jürgen Klute denounced on Wednesday that “a serious democratic rupture has occurred in Paraguay, leaving serious wounds in the political health of the land” after the parliamentary coup d’état that ousted the legitimate president, Fernando Lugo.

According to a news item from Telesur, Klute, of the German left party Die Linke, said that in Paraguay the process of alternating democracy, following 61 years of one-party rule, of which 34 were under a military dictatorship, had been interrupted, and that “the people have been deprived of the President whom they elected democratically.”

The legislator, who was a member of the European Parliamentary Commission that concluded a visit to Paraguay on Wednesday in order to evaluate the conditions of the country, added that the Paraguayan Congress “flagrantly violated Articles 16 and 17 of the Constitution, which guarantee due process and constitutional rights of defence” to President Lugo.

“The Supreme Court of Paraguay or, failing that, the Inter-American Human Rights Court of the Organization of American States, has confirmed this violation and declared the ouster illegal,” Klute said.

During his visit to Asunción, the Eurodeputy announced that he would ask the European Commission to activate the democratic clause and open an official investigation with a view to suspending non-reciprocal commercial transactions, which benefit Paraguayan exporters through their access to the European common market.

Also, Klute will ask that the EU re-evaluate its programs of co-operation with Paraguay, re-orienting them toward the protection of human rights.

He added that the 2013 elections in Paraguay “cannot be organized by a de facto government, but by the legitimately elected government or international organizations.”

Finally, Klute saluted the decisions taken by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) to suspend Paraguay from both bodies.

At the end of their mission, the visiting Eurodeputies declared that the calendar of negotiatios between the EU and Mercosur was interrupted by the removal of Lugo, and will not be re-established until after the next general elections, slated for April 21, 2013.

Translation mine.

That’s a pretty hefty blow to those same putschist big business types right there. All of Mercosur and Unasur against them is one thing, but not being able to export to Europe will hurt them where it counts — right in the ol’ pocketbook. The same crew who thought to benefit by ousting Lugo have shot themselves in the foot, and it looks good on them. As does this last little bit of Schadenfreude:

Members of Paraguay Resiste staged a protest before the Government Palace, in order to sing — so they said — “Unhappy Birthday” to president Federico Franco, who turned 50 on Monday.

Shouting “Putschist” and “Franco out!”, they called for a return to democratic order in Paraguay, according to the local daily, Ultimas Noticias.

The group gathered before the Palacio de López, where Franco’s office is located, prompting a heavy security deployment in the area.

Translation mine.

And here’s a picture of the Unhappy 50th Birthday party:

Hey Frauderico, I hope that cake stuck in your throat. And that you couldn’t find enough maté to wash it down. Ha, ha.

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