Paraguay will elect its next president on April 30 and the polls point to two clear favorites: Efraín Alegre, the candidate of the National Concertation for a New Paraguay who did not rule out breaking relations with Taiwan and siding with China and who could be the candidate who break with decades of power of the Colorado Party. On the other side, Santiago Peña, the political godson of former President Horacio Cartes, whose administration was accused of corruption by Washington.
Double-edged weapon. santiago penaan economist who was Paraguay’s finance minister during the government of Horacio Cartes and who worked in one of the magnate’s banks until his run for president of Paraguay, could be the lifeline or the beginning of the end for a hegemonic Colorado Party.
“On April 30 we will have the greatest battle of our generation, because we are going to choose the Paraguay we want, the country we want for our children and grandparents, for this reason we have an enormous responsibility,” the candidate assured during a campaign event.
Peña presents himself as the candidate to promote the development of Paraguay and his main bets revolve around the economic level and citizen security. “Employment, investment in human capital, health, education. The next few years may be the best years for Paraguay. But we have to put all our knowledge, experience and determination into practice,” Peña commented on ”.
Among its main proposals is the creation of free nurseries so that family members can work more comfortably, a program to combat addictions that includes rehabilitation, education and persecution in points of sale, as well as another to fight hunger. which consists of a state stimulus to freeze the prices of gasoline, the basic basket and thus curb inflation.
He also set out to create 500,000 jobs during his tenure, an attractive figure for a country of 6.7 million people.
“What we have to solve quickly is the economic problem, so that the Paraguayans have money in their pockets again. I feel prepared for this challenge”, commented the candidate on Twitter.
Peña, favorite in the polls to govern the period 2023-2028, has a history of controversies that could go unnoticed with the good management of the political campaign, but on his shoulders weighs the link with his political godfather: Horacio Cartes, the former Paraguayan president. at the head of one of the oldest political parties in Latin America and the corruption scandals that surround it.
Santiago Peña and a career of presidential
Born in Asunción on November 16, 1978, he has a degree in economics from the Nuestra Señora de la Asunción Catholic University, and a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University, USA.
Between 2000 and 2009 he was an official of the Central Bank of his country and from there He jumped to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) where he served in the African Department and returned to Paraguay to occupy a chair on the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) between 2012 and 2014.
From banking he went to the Government, where he held the position of Minister of Finance of the Republic of Paraguay between 2015 and 2017 and began working in the Administration of former President Horacio Cartes, sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury, which linked his mandate with acts of corruption “that undermine democratic institutions”, accusations that until today Cartes dismisses.
Peña was part of the Banco Basa Board of Directors, linked to the former president, until his candidacy for the Presidency of the country.
A candidacy peppered with scandals
The colorado candidate has been dotted with several scandals. One of them, his affiliation with his own political party. In 2016 it was revealed that Peña changed his party affiliation since he had been part of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA) since he was 17 years old and not Colorado, despite the fact that he was already a government minister. Peña argued that he was affiliated with the PLRA because his father was one of the founders.
In 2017, the same year that he was a presidential candidate in the internships for Honor Colorado, a current within the Colorado Party led by former President Cartes, lost and received an avalanche of criticism after images circulated where a soldier held his umbrella for him. this when he was no longer part of the cabinet of ministers.
In January 2021, the now presidential candidate called those close to President Mario Abdo Benítez “rogues and toll drivers” after his involvement in a scandal related to PDVSA. But criticism turned against him due to his relationship with the Honor Colorado movement and former President Horacio Cartes.
The economist also annoyed his neighbors by stating during a public act that Argentines “do not want to work”, which earned him a reaction from the Argentine ambassador in Paraguay. Among his controversies is a compliment to the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner by stating that he “was responsible for more than 50 years of stability in Paraguay.”
Whether the shadow of former President Cartes could affect his candidacy remains to be confirmed on election day, although an eventual Colorado government would be marked by controversy.
“Governance would be complicated and Peña would have two difficulties, one internal to the party because there is no peñismo, as there is a Chartism. Power is borrowed from Cartes, Peña will have to consolidate his autonomy and power as a government function. And in situations of power administration, there are other weighty leaders in the Colorado Party who are going to make very strong internal opposition to it,” Camilo Filártiga-Callizo, a political scientist at the Catholic University of Asunción, told France 24.
Efraín Alegre, the commitment to change and anti-corruption
The frontal fight against the mafia and corruption in his country is part of the pillars of the campaign of the opposition Efraín Alegre, who presented his government plan with five days left before the elections.
Alegre was born in San Juan Bautista, a city located 196 kilometers from Asunción, the capital. The 60-year-old lawyer, professor and politician leads a life linked to public service. Among the positions he has held, he highlighted the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies in the year 2000, then he was a senator in 2008, and became Minister of Public Works and Communications between 2008 and 2011.
The conservative politician will try to defeat the red machine on Sunday with almost 200 progressive, left-wing and Christian-democratic organizations in his favor. It is his third attempt to reach the Presidency: he sought it in 2013 and lost to Horacio Cartes and then to Mario Abdo Benítez in the 2018 general elections. He is now Santiago Peña’s main opponent.
For Filártiga-Callizo, Alegre has shown “difficulties in generating empathy with political counterparts outside his party. On the one hand, he is a traditional actor of the Liberal Party, there is little room for young people not linked to traditional parties who can see in him an attractive option ”.
Alegre is a lawyer from the Nuestra Señora de la Asunción Catholic University (UCA), has a master’s degree in Political Science from the National University of Asunción and a postgraduate degree in Community Law from the University of Salamanca.
In Europe, he completed his specialization studies in Public Management in the city of Granada, and in senior management, at the Universidad Austral in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
His government work highlights important infrastructure achievements in Paraguay, but he was also criticized for alleged irregularities during his tenure as minister during the Administration of Fernando Lugo.
Alegre officially launched his candidacy for the 2023 presidential elections last year, when he created the so-called Concertación Para Un Nuevo Paraguay, an opposition bloc with representatives from all kinds of political groups.
Alegre focuses on the economy and social plans
According to the political leader, this coalition, where he is running alongside his vice-presidential ticket, Soledad Núñez, “represents the plurality of realities and ideas in the country and will be executed with the commitment and leadership of all those who are part of the political project.” .
About Cheerful, Camilo Filártiga comments that “he is a persevering person with a vast political career who has shown consistency in the fight established in 2013 against Chartism. He chose it his disputed model ”.
Among Alegre’s main proposals is to reduce the energy rate, a measure that would benefit 90% of low-income users who consume up to 100 kilowatt hours, according to his plan. He also proposed creating by decree a bank of essential medicines and a secretariat that will investigate cases of state corruption.
Alegre, like Peña, has his bet in the economic sphere and public spending. “We have to put the public budget in order, we have to carry out austerity in the public sector, we cannot simply say if there is a lack of money, we are going to raise taxes,” Alegre commented during an electoral act.
“It aims to strengthen the institutional framework, to fight corruption, those are its flags and its proposals for social content in energy, health and safety,” said Filártiga, who adds that “Alegre has a greater affinity for social policies, it is also allied with a sector of the progressive left that asks him to include that in his agenda ”.
The candidate affirms that the relationship with Taiwan must be equal in “efforts” and proposed to explore rapprochements with China, something that generated interest and noise in the South American country. “We know that Taiwan is an important country in economic terms, developed, with a lot of technology. They can also make an effort in these relations, not only (that) Paraguay has to put all the effort,” Alegre said.
On aligning himself with Beijing, the candidate added that “we have not made the decision, we are going to make it later, clearly analyzing it.” His country is the only one in South America that does not have diplomatic relations with China.
Paraguay will celebrate the eighth general elections since the end of the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, in 1989. Paraguayans are called to the polls to vote for president, vice president, deputies, senators, governors and departmental boards, elections that will define if the colorados maintain their political hegemony or if they will be defeated for the second time in their entire history.
With EFE and local media
