Monday May 1, 2023 | 8:31 a.m.
Paraguay backed the continuation of the ruling Colorado Party for another five-year term by electing its candidate Santiago Peña as president in Sunday’s general elections by an unexpected difference, if one looked at previous polls that spoke of a much more even fight between the candidate of the ANR and Efraín Alegre, candidate of the Concertación.
Peña, a 44-year-old economist, obtained 42.74% of the votes against 27.48% for the Alegre candidate of the opposition Concertación for a New Paraguay, after counting almost all of the 12,259 polling stations. The Colorado Party thus extends its political hegemony in the South American nation, which it has ruled since 1947, even as the political support of the dictator Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989), with the exception of a brief period of progressive tinge between 2008 and 2012. Alegre, which He was running for the presidency for the third time, acknowledged defeat and announced that “we will continue fighting with our principles, the fight continues.”
The first to congratulate the president-elect was the outgoing president. “Congratulations to the Paraguayan people for their great participation in this election day and to President-elect Santiago Peña,” Mario Abdo Benítez said on Twitter. “We will work to start an orderly and transparent transition that strengthens our institutions and the country’s democracy.” From the United States to the presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from Brazil, Alberto Fernández, from Argentina, Luis Lacalle Pou, from Uruguay, and Gabriel Boric, from Chile, greeted the youngest elected president of Paraguay since the return of democracy in 1989.
I spoke by phone with the president-elect @SantiPenapwhom I congratulated on his triumph in Paraguay.
I affectionately greet all our brother people and I wish them a great future. Latin America must unite, integration is the way. pic.twitter.com/4ULrDz4GjT
– Alberto Fernandez (@alferdez) April 30, 2023
The challenges that come
Although great economic, social and energy policy challenges await him, the first big announcement from the new president was aimed at Venezuela. “I have said it publicly, my intention is to restore relations with Venezuela,” which were interrupted in 2019, Peña said during a television interview.
Peña’s massive victory confirmed, on the one hand, that the powerful electoral machinery of the Colorado Party remained intact despite the economic sanctions against former president and magnate Horacio Cartes (2013-2018), the strongman of Paraguayan politics who was recently declared a “person significantly corrupt” by the United States.
At the same time, the opposition led by Alegre was unable to capitalize on the weariness of broad sectors of Paraguayan society with endemic corruption. Almost 23% of the votes went to the right-wing candidate Paraguayo Cubas, who carried an anti-system discourse. He voted 63% of the register of almost five million voters. Peña garnered 1.2 million votes against 830,842 for Alegre.
“An unexpected result, very unexpected. I think that even the colorados themselves fall on their backs with such a bulky result”, analyzed the political consultant Sebastián Acha. “It gives him enormous legitimacy due to the size of the difference and that makes the presidency unquestionably won by Peña.” Peña was sponsored by the former president, who was previously his Secretary of the Treasury and an employee of the BASA bank, owned by the businessman.
“Many thanks to my dear president of the ANR (National Republican Association, formal name of the Colorado Party), Horacio Cartes. I admire the immensity of your obstinacy for the fate of the Colorado Party. Thank you for this Colorado victory, thank you for this Paraguayan victory, ”declared the president-elect from the stage of the party headquarters, with Cartes next to him.
Santiago Peña speaks after the electoral triumph, along with Horacio Cartes. / Photo: AP
For Acha, Peña “now has to see if that legitimacy helps him get rid of the figure of Cartes, an uncomfortable figure in this whole situation for international relations. He will have to show that he has his own flight ”. According to the State Department’s complaint, the former president engaged in “acts of corruption before, during, and after his tenure.” He also denounced that he collected bribes from Hezbollah, considered by the United States a terrorist organization.
In retaliation, the US government froze the assets of Cartes and his companies and prevented them from operating in its financial system. Cartes, owner of a conglomerate of companies ranging from tobacco to livestock and large media, denies the charges. After knowing the result, the US ambassador in Asunción, Marc Ostfield, announced that “we will continue working together to strengthen our excellent bilateral relations and promote transparency and an inclusive democracy.”
“I want to be a tool for you,” Cartes said when taking the floor during the celebrations of the ruling party. “I want you to be sure that the Colorado Party is going to be your best tool,” he advanced to his dauphin. The ruling party also obtained the majority of the 45 seats in the Senate and 80 in the Deputies, according to the official count. And 15 of the 17 governorates.
Peña’s victory is also a relief for Taiwan, which secures the support of the only partner in South America. The opposition Alegre had promised to break relations with the self-governing island to ally with China.
“Congratulations to the Paraguayan people, who show the world the democratic power of citizens through their votes,” said the Taiwan embassy in Asunción. “We will continue to work on this fruitful relationship of prosperity partners.” Peña will succeed the current president Abdo Benítez for the period 2023-2028.
