New Versus Old Right in Paraguay’s Presidential Election

[Judi Lynn]

New Versus Old Right in Paraguay’s Presidential Election
Written by Benjamin Dangl and April Howard
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Source: NACLA Report on the Americas

Now that much of Latin America has shifted to the left, Paraguay remains a key Washington ally. The country’s political landscape continues to be dominated by the Colorado Party, which has been in power for 61 years, the longest continuous rule of any political party in the world. This enormous political machine, much of it built and consolidated during the 35-year military dictatorship (1954–89) of General Alfredo Stroessner, still permeates every inch of Paraguayan society. Yet as the panorama of candidates for the April presidential election makes clear, a new right-wing faction is emerging within the party, pledging to cut the umbilical cord with the past.
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Relations with Washington, which has lavished Paraguay with democratization projects (that is, military training) in recent years, figure heavily as a campaign issue. Though the two countries have long been close, tensions arose even during the Stroessner era over the dictator’s not so subtle drug business. A 1986 House of Representatives report declared that there was "evidence of military collaboration and even active participation in the operation of cocaine laboratories," and in 1988, the U.S.-based Cox Newspapers reported that Stroessner was collecting payoffs from "all narcotics traffickers conducting business in Paraguay." Stroessner himself came to be called King of the Smugglers.

Today, Washington touts the fact that "more than a dozen U.S. multinational firms," mostly in the computer, agro-industrial, telecom, and banking industries, have subsidiaries in the country. But it has also identified Paraguay as a "major illicit producer of cannabis" and "locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations." These concerns center on one of the country’s most notorious cities, Ciudad del Este. Initially named Port Stroessner after the dictator founded it in 1957, the city exists in the tri-border region where Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina meet. In 1996, Forbes magazine ranked the city as the third most important commercial center, after Miami and Hong Kong—a crucial node in the trade circuits through which legitimate and counterfeit goods alike find their way to port.
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In contrast to the other candidates, Fernando Lugo, the bearded former bishop running for president, represents a link to the new left in Latin America. Yet his base comprises a wide coalition of opposition forces whose interests probably don’t coincide past a rejection of Colorado rule. And his candidacy is uncertain, since the Vatican has rejected his requests for laicization, and Paraguayan law forbids clergy from running for office. Nonetheless, Lugo, together with Oviedo, is considered a front-runner.

In any case, if Paraguayan voters think ousting the Colorados is enough to create change, warns Paraguayan sociologist and human rights advocate Marco Castillo, they are in for a surprise. "The Colorados are organized and capable, and could mobilize their wide support and state-based infrastructure to make any advances by the new government impossible," he says. But he adds that if the Colorado Party does win the elections, a continuation of its clientelist, pro-business policies for the next five years could be "disastrous."

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1142/1/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Former Bishop Lugo Leads in Paraguay

Former Bishop Lugo Leads in Paraguay
February 20, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo leads all other presidential candidates in Paraguay, according to a poll by First Análisis y Estudios published in ABC Color. 31.2 per cent of respondents would vote for Lugo of the Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC) in this year’s ballot.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo leads all other presidential candidates in Paraguay, according to a poll by First Análisis y Estudios published in ABC Color. 31.2 per cent of respondents would vote for Lugo of the Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC) in this year’s ballot.

Lino Oviedo of the National Union of Ethical Citizens (UNACE) is second with 25.3 per cent, followed by Blanca Ovelar of the ruling National Republican Association - Red Party (ANR) with 24.3 per cent, and Pedro Fadul of the Beloved Homeland Party (PPQ) with 3.5 per cent.

Nicanor Duarte won the April 2003 presidential election as the ANR candidate with 37.1 per cent of all cast ballots. The ANR has been involved in Paraguay’s government since 1947, even during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner. Duarte is not eligible for a new term.

More:
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/29945/former_bishop_lugo_leads_in_paraguay