Paraguay hosts 68th Mercosur summit as leaders clash over EU trade deal and security
The 68th Mercosur summit opened in Luque, Paraguay, with heads of state from Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina and the host, Paraguay, meeting to discuss the bloc’s future. President Santiago Peña launched the meeting by condemning the “asymmetries” of the recently‑signed free‑trade agreement with the European Union, demanding a fair distribution of export‑quota shares for land‑locked Paraguay.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei cancelled his trip, opting to stay in Buenos Aires to work on domestic agenda and a cabinet reshuffle. Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula used his speech to call for defending democracy and announced accelerated gas‑field talks between Petrobras and Bolivia’s YPFB. Chile’s José Antonio Kast urged the creation of a regional security architecture to fight transnational crime, while Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa proposed modernising the Andean‑Mercosur trade pact. The summit also expressed solidarity with earthquake‑hit Venezuela and reaffirmed support for Bolivia’s elected government amid protests. Uruguay’s Yamandú Orsi is set to assume the pro‑tempore presidency of Mercosur for the second half of the year.