Paraguayan president expresses his support for OAS on eve of Celac meeting

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The President of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez, expressed on Thursday (16) his support for the “maintenance” of the Organization of American States (OAS), on the eve of taking part in the meeting of Celac leaders, where Mexico will promote a proposal to transform the organization.

“We are in favor of maintaining the OAS,” was the president’s brief answer to the media after attending the celebration of the Paraguayan Navy Day in Asunción.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Paraguay

Abdo Benítez, of the conservative Colorado Party, was accompanied by the vice-president, Hugo Velázquez, who will take over as head of the government during the president’s stay in Mexico, between the 17th and 19th of this month, for this meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).

According to Maximiliano Reyes, undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean of the North American country, confirmed to Efe that the Mexican government plans to formalize its proposal for the transformation of the OAS at the meeting.

Last July, at the Celac foreign ministers’ meeting, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, called for the creation in the region of “something similar” to the European Union (EU) to replace the OAS.

The National Palace in Mexico City will host the VI Summit of Heads of State and the Government of Celac.

So far, 16 heads of state and government, two vice presidents, and 14 foreign ministers have confirmed their attendance, although more are expected.

Representatives of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Charles Michel, President of the European Council, will also attend the summit.

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