2024-07-04 19:14:49
The Organization of American States (OAS) began a turbulent general assembly on Wednesday in Asunción, with an attempted coup in Bolivia and new disagreements with Javier Milei’s Argentina, which has objected to mentions of human rights and gender equality.
The OAS “will not tolerate any form of violation of the legitimate constitutional order in Bolivia or anywhere else,” said the organization’s secretary general, Luis Almagro, during the summit, condemning the irregular movements of the Bolivian army in La Paz.
Tanks and troops occupied Plaza Murillo, in the center of the city and political hub of Bolivia. One of these military vehicles tried to knock down a metal door of the presidential palace, in an act described as a “coup d’état” by the Bolivian president, Luis Arce, and other leaders of the international community.
The events occurred as the OAS began its assembly in the Paraguayan capital, marked by disagreements among representatives after Argentina rejected draft resolutions related to democracy and the environment and which mentioned the need to have a gender and ethnic perspective in the issues addressed by the organization.
The Argentine ambassador to the OAS, Sonia Cavallo, questioned, among other things, a paragraph of the resolution on Haiti that mentioned the need to combat sexual and gender violence, to which the US ambassador, Frank Mora, objected, arguing that this is “a serious and widespread problem” in the Caribbean country.
Asked about Argentina’s position, Almagro said on Tuesday that there are always “great difficulties in reaching agreements” and that “the discussion has to be plural, diverse.”
Argentine diplomacy also has another controversy.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday that he would not speak to Milei until he apologizes to him and Brazil for the “nonsense” he has said. The Argentine presidency responded shortly after that Milei “has not committed anything for which he has to repent.”
Milei called the leftist leader “corrupt” and a “wild leftist” before taking power in December last year.
– Don’t be “naive” –
The 54th General Assembly of the OAS, which officially began at dusk on Wednesday and ends on Friday at the Conmebol headquarters in Asunción, brings together 23 foreign ministers from the region dedicated to reaching consensus on positions regarding the defense of democracy, human rights, security and development.
Among its priorities will be Venezuela, whose government formally left the organization in 2019 after requesting to leave two years earlier, accusing the organization of being a “space of imperial domination.”
Ambassador Mora said last week that member countries could not be “naive about the situation in Venezuela,” where arrests of opponents are increasing.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will seek a six-year term in office on July 28 in elections closely watched by the international community and in which most polls give the advantage to the opposition led by María Corina Machado and her candidate, Edmundo González.
Also on the agenda are the situation in Nicaragua, where Daniel Ortega has governed for 17 years after being re-elected in elections questioned by the international community, and Haiti, immersed in a deep crisis.
“The eradication of poverty, the protection of the environment and the fight against climate change will be prioritized,” OAS Assistant Secretary General Nestor Mendez said Tuesday.
© Agence France-Presse
