According to reports from CNN Brasil and the Correio Braziliense newspaper, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez confirmed the telephone call between the two leaders.

Ramirez also expressed that the matter was discussed with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira during a meeting in Lima, where they attended the inauguration ceremony of Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori.

The controversy arose after Lula stated on July 24, during a visit to the Avibras Aeroco factory in the municipality of Jacarei, Sai Paulo state, that Paraguay invaded Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay in the 19th century, in defense of investments in the defense sector.

“We cannot forget that one day Paraguay decided to invade Brazil, invaded Corumba, and at the same time invaded Uruguay and Argentina, and that war, which seemed like nothing, lasted five years,” the Brazilian president declared.

The statements caused a strong reaction in Paraguay, where that conflict, which took place between 1864 and 1870, is one of the most sensitive episodes in the national memory, and the Paraguayan Congress approved a declaration of rejection.

As part of the diplomatic response, the Paraguayan government summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asuncion, Jose Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho, for a meeting scheduled for tomorrow with Vice President Pedro Alliana.

The recall of an ambassador is a standard diplomatic mechanism for formally conveying a state’s discontent, but it does not in itself imply an irreversible deterioration of bilateral relations, local media pointed out.

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