Paraguay President Lugo concerned over coup threat

[Judi Lynn]

Source: UPI

Paraguay President Lugo concerned over coup threat
Published: May 7, 2010 at 11:58 AM

BUENOS AIRES, May 7 (UPI) -- Paraguay's beleaguered president Fernando Lugo opened his heart to peers attending the Union of South American Nations summit, warning he faced the threat of a Honduras-style coup that could unseat him.

Lugo's startling concerns were voiced behind closed doors at the newly formed Union of South American Nations, which met in the Argentine capital this week.

UNASUR officials remained reticent about revealing details of the meeting, held on the sidelines of the summit, but a joint statement after the talks declared support for Lugo, a Roman Catholic bishop who made history when he won election in 2008 on the ashes of an internal feud within the dominant Colorado Party.

His triumph after 60 years of Colorado's sway over Paraguayan politics instantly won him political enemies throughout the land.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/05/07/Paraguay-President-Lugo-concerned-over-coup-threat/UPI-79891273247908/

[mitchtv]

1. location ,location,location

I think wedged between Arg and BRazil, he is more safe than Zelaya. I'd hate to see a replay of The War of the Triple Alliance

[FreakinDJ]

2. Bush Family owns 10,000 acre ranch in Paraguay

I'd be nervous too

[ocd liberal]

3. You read my mind! n/t

[Judi Lynn]

4. My God, I forgot about that. The Rev. Sun Myung Moon also owns a HUGE tract

right above the world's largest underground fresh water resource, the Guarani Aquifer.

Thursday, October 14, 2004
Paraguayans accuse Moon of carving out an empire of smack

Exerpt:

"Since 1999, Rev Moon has built his personal empire which begins on the marshy banks of the River Paraguay and stretches beyond the hazy, level horizon through 600,000 hectares of arid land - equivalent to more than two Luxembourgs - punctuated by solitary clusters of withered trees and sad bushes which struggle desperately for air.

The scorching sun beats relentlessly on one of Latin America's most desolate zones. It is here in the northern province of Chaco, directly above the GuaranI aquifer, the largest resource of fresh drinking water in the world, where Moon's associates claim he wishes to build an ecological paradise.

Nevertheless, national Senator Domingo Laino sees a different pattern in Moon's acquisitions. "There are two principal branches to Moon's interest in Paraguay," he said, "control of the largest fresh drinking water source in the world and control of the narcotics business", which is so prevalent in this area. "President Lula told me that Brazil took serious measures to curb Moon a few years back as it became evident that he was buying up the border between our two countries," said the senator.

Allegations from local law enforcement officials support this claim. The so-called Dr Montiel, Paraguay's drugs tsar from 1976-89, said: "The fact that they came and bought in Chaco and on both sides of the Brazilian border is very telling. It is an enormously strategic point in both the narcotics and arms trades and indeed the available intelligence clearly shows that the Moon sect is involved in both these enterprises." "

More:
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/david-keating/2004/11/where-south-america-sun-myung-moon

(I've read that _{Bush ranch} acreage as close to 100,000, rather than 10,000! It's 42,000 hectares. Creepy.)

[cutlassmama]

5. Yep with pristine drinking water rights

[hack89]

6. I think that is an internet myth

I have asked for links before and get nothing except pure speculation on some blog.

[troubledamerican]

12. 1954 coup, Alfredo Stroessner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfredo_Stroessner

[boppers]

7. Is he going to try to overthrow the constitution, using the military as a private election force?

Pretty simple to avoid's Zelaya's fate: Don't act like a dictator.

Of course, his political history is shadowed by his years working for one of the ultimate dictatorships, so it may be a rough road for him.

[Wilms]

8. Keep spinning.

You've got the silver-spooned right wing perspective down pat. Your choice. :hi:

Meanwhile, in line with trends in the NOW-emerging Democracies of Latin America, Zelaya decided that the Honduran resources were the domain of the Honduran majority. That pissed offed the oligarchs. And you.

[boppers]

9. Nah, it didn't piss me off.

Ultimately, it's not as simple as the spin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Honduran_constitutional_crisis

[New Dawn]

10. Progressive Latin American countries should militarily intervene if Washington tries another coup.

[naaman fletcher]

11. LOL

It is a well known fact that the threat is from the left wing. Your left wing hero has suspended all sorts of rights fighting the left wing rebels, yet you sit here and act like its some sort of right wing conspiracy.

You claim to be informed on latin american affairs, here is a 101 article for you on Paraguay:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8642369.stm

Normally you cross post your links to the Latin American forum. You did not this time. Is that because you know that everyone in the LA forum knows this is a leftist president battling leftist rebels?

[Judi Lynn]

13. I posted it immediately after posting it here, at 3:47 a.m. Friday.

Here's the link for others who are are interested in checking the honesty of your claim:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x35818

[naaman fletcher]

16. You are correct,

I apologize for suggesting that I must have missed it in LatAm forum somehow.

[Judi Lynn]

14. Please take a moment to see a good article on this from D.U. member rabs:

"More explanatory article

From STRATFOR GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE which points out that Lugo has enemies on all sides, not only from the left.

----------------------------------

Coup Rumors and a State of Emergency

Rumors of a potential coup in Paraguay are circulating throughout South America. On May 7, it was revealed in Brazilian, Argentine and Paraguayan press that a closed-door meeting took place on the sidelines of a Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) summit held in Buenos Aires May 3-4, in which UNASUR officials discussed the threats to Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo’s hold on power and reaffirmed support for the beleaguered leader.

Lugo, who has no shortage of political enemies, is also no stranger to his country’s coup climate. Lugo came to power in 2008 with an extremely fragile coalition — Patriotic Alliance for Change — that ended a 60-year rein in power by the Colorado Party. Political elites in the Colorado Party maintain significant control in Paraguay’s government, judiciary and armed forces and have been aggressively campaigning for Lugo’s removal.

Lugo also faces a threat from Vice President Federico Franco, whose party, Partido Liberal Radical Autentico (PLRA), helped Lugo defeat the Colorado Party in 2008, broke apart from the coalition soon after and is now locked into a bitter power struggle with the president. Adding to these pressures is the rising level of violence in Paraguay’s northern departments, where turf wars are being fought between drug gangs, and where the Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP) — a small rebel group with suspected links to drug trafficking and a reputation for kidnappings — has been operating with greater frequency.

In the past 14 years, Paraguay has witnessed two failed coup attempts, both led by politically ambitious Gen. Lino Cesar Oviedo Silva, who remains in Paraguay and continues to voice dissent against the government. Both the Colorado Party and the PLRA have been working to defame Lugo’s reputation by trying to link him to EPP, claiming the president follows the EPP’s liberation theology school of thought, which calls for social justice in issues such as land reform and assistance to the poor.

Lugo has responded to violence in the north and these political accusations by imposing a state of emergency in five departments of northern Paraguay beginning April 24."

More:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x35818#35860

[Judi Lynn]

15. Brazil will not allow drug cartels or armed groups from taking over Paraguay

Friday, May 7th 2010 - 21:40 UTC
Brazil will not allow drug cartels or armed groups from taking over Paraguay

Brazilian Senate president Jose Sarney said there are serious risks of a “Colombianization” of Paraguay given the recent actions of an armed group self proclaimed the Paraguayan People’s Army, EPP, and called for strong support for President Fernando Lugo.

“EPP can’t turn into a FARC or a Shinning Path”, said Senator Sarney, in reference to the Colombian and Peruvian seditious armed groups.

Brazil “with all its greatness can’t allow any source of instability in its neighbourhood” or allow for a similar process to those that “have already happened in Peru or Colombia”, insisted the former Brazilian president.

Sarney one of President Lula da Silva’s main allies in Congress warned that Brazil could suffer consequences from an instability situation in Paraguay.

Brazilian Defence minister Nelson Jobim said this week that the Brazilian Federal Police has increased collaboration with Paraguayan authorities, and Congress approved the donation of three jungle fighter planes to the Paraguayan air force.

More:
http://en.mercopress.com/2010/05/07/brazil-will-not-allow-drug-cartels-or-armed-groups-from-taking-over-paraguay