Paraguay criticizes Lula’s speech and demands that the cannon be returned

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was criticized last month by the Paraguayan government and parliamentarians for having stated that the Paraguayans “invaded” Brazilian territory and started the war fought between 1864 and 1870, in which Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay faced the neighboring country.

Last week, it was reported that the PT member approved the return of the cannon to Paraguay in a meeting at the end of July with the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro, a measure demanded by Assunção for years and which was emphasized amid the controversy.

El Cristiano was taken as a war trophy and is now on display at the National Historical Museum in Rio de Janeiro.

In statements released by the press office of the Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies, the president of the house, Raúl Latorre, said after the meeting with Ramírez that Paraguay needs to move forward “in the recovery of war trophies that have to do with the War against the Triple Alliance [como os paraguaios chamam o conflito do século XIX]which was the biggest genocide on our continent.”

“The Brazilian people are a brotherly people, they are a friendly people, they are Paraguay’s main commercial partner, in fact we have a very large, important Brazilian community that comes, that produces, that works here and these are completely different situations than the statements made by the president of Brazil at that time, very unhappy”, stated the deputy.

“We want this [devolução do canhão] happen as soon as possible; These are scars that we must continue working to heal,” he added.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, Ramírez said at the meeting that the process of returning the cannon must go through a series of stages, initially within the scope of the Brazilian Executive Branch and later in the National Congress, because the items claimed by Assunção are part of Brazil’s historical heritage.

El Cristiano is listed by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan).

The Paraguayan chancellor said that, despite the news that Lula gave approval for the return of the cannon, the Santiago Peña government has not yet received any official document from Brazil regarding the issue.

“Diplomacy has its means, its times and its processes and this is a historic demand”, said Ramírez.