Lewandowski is appointed to the Mercosur court – 07/04/2023 – World

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil announced this Tuesday (4) the approval of retired Minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) Ricardo Lewandowski, 75, for the post of arbitrator of the TPR (Permanent Court of Revision) of Mercosur, economic bloc made up of South American countries.

Lewandowski’s term will begin on July 28. Next year, the presidency of the TPR will fall to the Brazilian. Appointed to the STF in 2006, he left the court last April. For the minister’s vacancy, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) nominated lawyer Cristiano Zanin, already approved by the Senate.

The TPR was created in 2002 and its role is to mediate disputes between Mercosur countries. For this, the court’s arbitrators must interpret and propose measures for compliance with the rules of the block.

The Common Market of the South, also known by the acronym Mercosur, today comprises Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay and has the other seven South Americans as associated countries, with the exception of Venezuela, suspended in 2016 for violating the bloc’s clauses.

Since 2012, Bolivia has been in a process of joining Mercosur that depends on the approval of the Brazilian Congress — Chancellor Mauro Vieira said he wants to move forward with the procedures in the coming months.

Among the bloc’s objectives is the generation of commercial and investment opportunities between the countries. This Tuesday, Brazil returned to assume the presidency of Mercosur after a 13-year hiatus. During a meeting of leaders of the bloc, Lula said that he is not aware of the details of the exclusion of opponents in the Venezuelan elections and returned to defend dialogue with the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

The main names of the Venezuelan opposition were disqualified from holding public office last Friday (30) by decision of the Comptroller General, which, in practice, buried the prospects of free and democratic elections that Maduro said he would hold in 2024.

Earlier, the petista was criticized for having prepared a gala reception for Maduro, in May, when he received leaders from South America in Brasília. At the time, the Uruguayan president, Luis Lacalle Pou, said he was surprised by Lula’s statement that there were narratives about the political situation in Venezuela.

The chancellor of Uruguay, Francisco Bustillo, indicated this Monday (3) that the country is considering leaving Mercosur as a member state if the bloc does not “become flexible”. Montevideo has been insisting for two years on the idea of ​​signing a bilateral agreement with China – which Brazil and Argentina see as a violation of the group’s norms. He pondered, however, that the decision would have to go through several instances.