Lacalle Pou questioned Milei’s absence from the Mercosur summit

The President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, questioned the absence of his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei during the Summit of Heads of State of Mercosur held this Monday in Paraguay.During his speech, in which he reaffirmed his intention to deepen the international insertion of the bloc, Lacalle Pou alluded to the absence of Milei, who decided not to attend the summit after his passage through the Political Conference of Conservative Action (CPAC) in Brazil. where he met with former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, which further strained the bond with Lula da Silva.” I want to make a point because it would not be me if I did not say it: Not only the message matters, the messenger is very important. Obviously I am not going to underestimate anyone, but if Mercosur is so important, all presidents should be here,” said the Head of State. “I attach importance to Mercosur. And if we really believe in this bloc, we should all be there,” he added. After calling Lula a “communist” and “corrupt,” Milei decided not to travel to Asunción for the Mercosur summit. On the other hand, last weekend he traveled to Brazil to attend CPAC, where he coincided with former President Jair Bolsonaro. This Monday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs marked the present of “stagnation” that the economic bloc is going through. “We have a critical view of Mercosur’s present and we consider that its potential as an expanded market and platform for relations with the world is highly untapped. Mercosur is in need of an adrenaline shock,” he said during his presentation. However, his speech was overshadowed by the snub that Milei’s absence meant.At this summit, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña is expected to transfer the pro tempore presidency of the bloc to his Uruguayan counterpart, Luis Lacalle Pou.

Original source in Spanish