Paraguay

Ex-bishop wins presidential poll

Article published on the 2008-04-21 Latest update 2008-04-21 15:08 TU

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo
(Photo : Reuters)

Breaking the Colorado party's 61-year run, left-wing former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo was declared winner in Paraguay's presidential polls, defeating the country's first female candidate and a retired army chief, the Electoral Tribunal announced. He won 41 per cent of the vote, beating Colorado candidate Blanca Ovelar's 31 per cent. Retired generel Lino Oviedo trailed far behind.

Lugo represents the left-wing Patriotic Alliance for Change.

"The little people can also win," he said. "This is the Paraguay I dream about, with many colours, many faces, the Paraguay of everyone."

Lugo was suspended by the Vatican in 2006 when he entered politics.

The opposition, including Lugo, feared that there would be fraud in Sunday's vote but the 70 observers of the League of American States said that voting at the polling stations they monitored went smoothly. International Transparency, a vote monitor organisation, did report some cases of corrpution.

Lugo is seen as a leftist, especially because of his admiration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales. Lugo insists that he is more of a centrist who champions the rights of the poor.

"He's pink. But he's not a raving socialist at all. He's got his head screwed on very tight," says RFI's correspondent Margaret Hebblethwaite in Paraguay.

 

"The Colorado party of course have wanted to get out any dirt they can find ... They have been circulating stories of things far worse than nationalised industries. Petrol dollars have been trying to link him up with kidnapping attempts, with terrorism," she explains.

Lugo's challenges will include stamping out corruption and raising living standards of this largely agricultural country, which has a per capita income of only 12,000 dollars.