Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin confirmed that Paraguay will attend the December 4 Mercosur summit in Uruguay after the removal of President Santiago Peña. Montevideo considers the succession constitutional and says it will work with the authorities installed through Paraguayan institutions.
Lubetkin said Uruguay followed the parliamentary and Senate proceedings closely and saw no break with democratic procedure. He noted that the decisive vote was unanimous except for one absent senator, using the legislative record to justify rapid diplomatic recognition.
Uruguay was among the first governments to congratulate the new president, previously Paraguay's vice president. Lubetkin held at least four telephone conversations with his Paraguayan counterpart on Saturday and received confirmation that the country would participate in the regional meeting.
The new Paraguayan leader is expected to serve about 20 months until the next election. Lubetkin argued that this period is long enough to deepen bilateral work, making the summit both an introduction to regional counterparts and an early test of foreign-policy continuity.
The gathering also faces tension between Brazil and Argentina. Lubetkin said the two countries must resolve their differences while Uruguay concentrates on securing full attendance and preserving Mercosur as a forum for dialogue rather than allowing bilateral disputes to paralyse it.
Participation by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Javier Milei had not yet been confirmed. Their presence would determine the summit's political weight, particularly if the bloc must address internal disagreements alongside the transition in one of its four founding members.
Lubetkin has achieved the first procedural objective by keeping Paraguay inside the meeting. Success on December 4 will depend on whether leaders use that institutional continuity to manage disputes and produce a common agenda, rather than merely stage a post-crisis photograph.
