Dissecting the Politics of Paraguay's Next President

[Judi Lynn]

Apri1 15, 2008

The Bishop of the Poor, the Red Queen or the Bonsai Horseman?
Dissecting the Politics of Paraguay's Next President
By APRIL HOWARD and BENJAMIN DANGL

Fernando Lugo, a bearded, left-leaning bishop is expected to win Paraguay's historic presidential election on April 20th, upsetting a 60-year rule by the right wing Colorado Party. While escaping the heat of the Paraguayan sun by sitting in the shade of an orange tree, farmer union leader Tomas Zayas explains, "If Lugo is elected, it will open a door for more changes in the future, but that's all. We'll take what we can get."

As much of the rest of Latin America shifts to the left, Paraguay remains a key ally of Washington, a human rights nightmare and example of the amorphous and survivalist qualities of the Latin American right. In the April 20th presidential elections, Blanca Ovelar and Lino Oviedo, two representatives of Paraguay's old right will come head to head with Fernando Lugo, a new face, and possibly a new beginning for the Paraguayan left.

Former Education Minister Blanca Ovelar, is carrying the torch of the 60-year rule of the Colorado, or Red Party, and General Lino Oviedo- nicknamed the "Bonsai horseman" for his short stature - is an ex-Colorado Party member himself, and until recently was serving prison time for an attempted coup. Alternately called "the Bishop of the Poor" by his supporters, and "the Red Bishop" by his right-wing opponents, Lugo is leading in the polls, and may do the same in the elections - if he can out maneuver the gargantuan resources and corrupt politics of his opponents.

Lugo: The Bishop of the Poor

Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez was born in 1951. As a young man, he taught in a rural school district which, according to reporter Andrew Nickson at Open Democracy, "was so remote that he was able to escape the usual rule that teachers had to be members of the Colorado Party."<1> In 1977, Lugo was ordained as a Catholic priest, and worked as a missionary in indigenous communities in Ecuador until 1982. He then spent 10 years studying at the Vatican, at which time he was appointed head of the Divine Word order in Paraguay. In 1994 he became the Bishop of the Paraguayan department of San Pedro. Though Lugo was frequently away from Paraguay, he did not avoid the repercussions of the Alfredo Stroessner dictatorship and its conservative influence. In fact, three of Lugo's brothers were exiled and the conservative Catholic hierarchy pressured him to resign as bishop due to his support for landless families' settlements on large estates owned by absent elites.

More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/howard04152008.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Paraguay gets closer to historic leadership change

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:09:00 GMT
Paraguay gets closer to historic leadership change

Asuncion - Paraguay has been governed by the Partido Colorado for 61 years, but the end seems near as the South American country prepares to vote in presidential elections on Sunday. According to all opinion polls, former Roman Catholic Bishop Fernando Lugo, 56, is the main favourite, although many Paraguayans have expressed a fear that fraud may be used to preserve the status quo.

Lugo is the candidate of the Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC), a coalition of some eight opposition parties and a score of social movements.

This group of anti-Colorado organizations which span from the political left to conservatism has caused a stir. Indeed, the Colorados have been able to hold on to power since 1947, and especially since the end of the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989), among other things because the opposition was divided.
(snip)

COIN noted that the turnout will be key to Lugo's aspirations: the more people vote, the more chances the former bishop has to be the next Paraguayan president.

Until one year ago, Lugo was the bishop of the poorest diocese in a country with a poverty rate of 25 per cent. He does not define himself as a proponent of Liberation Theology, but rather as a centrist politician.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/199442,preview-paraguay-gets-closer-to-historic-leadership-change.html

[magbana]

2. Excellent article, Judi

This was very informative and I will file this one away for future reference. It also gets my all-time prize for best title!! Thanks for making sure we got a chance to read it.

[Judi Lynn]

3. This race could mean so much to South America, couldn't it?

There are some great comments on it from Peace Patriot in a thread from General Discussion, and a couple of posts with information on the Paraguay giant air base, which has been getting some military activity since _{George W. Bush} stole the Presidency and quickly secured an immunity agreement from Paraguay which would cover all U.S. military personel.

Important election in Paraguay this Sunday--another Leftist set to win!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3170505

[Judi Lynn]

4. Fernando Lugo: the turbulent priest challenging a dynasty

April 18, 2008

Fernando Lugo: the turbulent priest challenging a dynasty

From The TimesApril 18, 2008

Fernando Lugo: the turbulent priest challenging a dynasty

Tom Hennigan in Asuncion

If opinion polls in Paraguay are correct, the 62-year reign of the world’s longest-serving ruling party will end on Sunday at the hands of a presidential novice.

The Asociación Nacional Republicana, known as the Colorados, has ruled this desperately poor and chronically corrupt country since 1946, through dictatorship and democracy. Now its freehold on power is threatened by a former Catholic bishop attempting to become president in his debut political campaign.

Fernando Lugo quit the Church in 2006, though Rome has refused his request for laicisation, and now leads an opposition alliance of 20 parties and political movements that have rallied to his candidacy.

Though his alliance’s programme includes plans to boost employment, clean up public life and implement land reform, his campaign essentially hangs on the promise of national renewal after decades of Colorado kleptocracy.

“These days a magical word is appearing in the north, south, east and west of Paraguay: cambio – change,” says the softly spoken 56-year-old politician, whose speeches still sound like the sermons he gave when bishop of the desperately poor region of San Pedro. “I believe the people are ready for a real change. I believe they are ready for a change not just in personal, parties, but a real structural change in Paraguay and its institutions,” he says.

Were he to win he would become the first opposition leader to come to power peacefully since Paraguay won independence from Spain in 1811.

More:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3767932.ece

[Judi Lynn]

5. Ruling party plays hostile politics in Paraguay

Posted on Thu, Apr. 17, 2008 10:15
Ruling party plays hostile politics in Paraguay
By JACK CHANG
McClatchy Newspapers

Oviedo ASUNCION, Paraguay
If you think the verbal sparring between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is getting nasty, you should try out politics in Paraguay, where there seem to be no limits to what you can call your opponent.

The Colorado Party is defending its 61 years in power, which makes it the longest-ruling party in the world. This Sunday, however, its members run a serious risk of losing as former bishop and presidential candidate Fernando Lugo leads the polls going into the vote.

So the Colorados have unleashed the insults and called Lugo a kidnapper, a killer and a traitor to God, among other choice names. In Catholic Latin America, it doesn’t get any worse than that last insult, especially for a former priest.
(snip)

The popular Oviedo was jailed for plotting a 1996 coup but released last year in the thick of the campaign season because, many speculate, the Colorados thought he could run for president and sap votes from Lugo. The opposite has happened, however. Oviedo has become a loose cannon, attacking the ruling party and drawing many dissident Colorados to his camp.
(snip)

More:
http://www.kansascity.com/news/world/story/581088.html