Efraín Alegre is a lawyer, former congressman, former senator, former Minister of Public Works and it is the third time that he has run for president of Paraguay. “Cartes and Santiago Peña have claimed stronism. They represent the continuity that comes from the dictatorship, without any doubt. And today the Concertación means precisely democratic consciousness, the Paraguay of decent people,” says Alegre. Interview.
RFI: Mr. Efraín, this is your third attempt to win the Presidency. Do you think he has a chance to beat the Colorados this time?
Ephraim Alegre: Of course we are going to win. We will win. Yes, the survey gives us a little higher but in reality we are much higher, we are fine, there is a decision to change. The system has collapsed this is no longer sustained. Today Paraguay needs change. The public understands perfectly. We have managed to build a broad project: the Concertación. 40 political organizations, 150 social organizations. It is the broadest understanding known to our political history that unites all Paraguayans of all sectors, that is why we say the country is in the Concertación, we are all here: colorados, independents, liberals, all sectors. Here we are all decent Paraguayans who want change in Paraguay.
RFI: If you win, what kind of government do you intend to form?
Ephraim Alegre: We are going to have a well represented government. With figures, first of all, integrity, people with capacity, with suitability. Plural, as we present a small preview of the cabinet where we see that we are from all sectors. It’s a colorado. They are independent. All people of integrity and who are suitable for the position for which they are summoned. So we are going to have a plural government. A parity government. For the first time in the history of Paraguay we are going to have a government, a cabinet where at least half are going to be women.
RFI: Who is the mafia in Paraguay to which you allude so much?
Ephraim Alegre: Horacio Cartes and Santiago Peña, precisely. The continuity project is the one represented by Horacio Cartes, significantly corrupt. We have been denouncing it for 10 years. Lately they have given us the reason because it is not just me who says it anymore. Governments of other countries say so. He has proceedings in Brazil, in Colombia, in the United States. He is part. He is the head of transnational organized crime. So they represent the danger for Paraguay. That is why we clearly say that the Concertación is security. It’s predictability. It is what Paraguay needs to take a leap. We have to recover justice for the country, which today is controlled by that dirty money in the Prosecutor’s Office, in the judges, bribing parliamentarians.
RFI: Paraguay is one of the 13 countries in the world and the only one in South America that does not have diplomatic relations with Beijing. It has a historical and geostrategic link with Taiwan. What do you think of Paraguay’s relationship with China?
Ephraim Alegre: Well, we say: relations with China and with Taiwan are special relations. No? With the rest of the countries, one can have relations formed indistinct and indiscriminate, however in the case of China. Taiwan is making up your mind. Drinking for Taiwan is what Paraguay has done for a long time. It means giving up the China market. That means an important effort from Paraguay. We are renouncing that market and we do not see that Taiwan is making the same effort. So we have a critical situation. We have a situation to revise these relationships a bit. We believe that China is an important opportunity that we are missing.
RFI: So what will you do with the diplomatic and economic relationship with China if you win the election?
Ephraim Alegre: Let’s check. For us, foreign policy means national interests. We are going to act according to national interests. What suits our country, our producers, our compatriots. Of course we also have a commitment. We have strategic alliances at the international level, of course, which we also value, of course, but we cannot do it to the detriment of national interests. So we have an important job.
RFI: Do you think the US is going to allow you to change your relationship with Taiwan?
Efrain Alegre: Well, relations are going to be decided by Paraguay. We are a sovereign country. We have alliances and we highly value relations with the United States, but we make the decisions ourselves. We take them within, I reiterate, a context of our international alliances, but in the first place of our national interests. So I believe that the United States will also respect our national interests and we will find a solution that works for everyone. May we all win. It cannot be that we make the effort for others to win. We all have to win, together.
RFI: The United States has been very present in this campaign for the economic sanctions of the Treasury Department against Horacio Cartes. Do you think that has influenced the campaign?
Efrain Alegre: Well, I think there are many things that have influenced. The investigations carried out in Colombia on Cartes’s cigarette have had an influence, of course, because well, it had been that it wasn’t just that Efraín was saying these things. After Brazil declares him precisely as the head of transnational organized crime as well, of course. People are watching. He says, well, but everyone is saying it’s not Efraín who says anymore. If not everyone. And after the United States declares him significantly corrupt, he holds him responsible for the growth of transnational organized crime. He holds him responsible that during his management he has protected…. The fact that Cartes has protected and strengthened the growth of organized crime during his administration as president is, of course, important information that points to the danger that this model of Horacio Cartes and Santiago Peña represents.
RFI: What do you think of Israel, because former President Cartes even moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, violating international treaties?
Efrain Alegre: We are going to respect the treaties of the United Nations clearly. Our relationship with Israel does not depend on putting the embassy in Jerusalem. That of course doesn’t make any sense. Israel knows that we have been committed to them since the Foundation, since the creation of the State of Israel, and we maintain firm and solid relations, and this has nothing to do with or depend on moving the embassy to Jerusalem.
RFI: Do you fear voter fraud on voting day?
Efrain Alegre: We are prepared to control throughout the national territory. At 90% of the tables in the country we have two representatives and one from the Colorado Party. We are in 95% of the Civic Boards, we have the Presidency. We have most of these organisms. We are trained to control. We are in a position to have the results before the Electoral Justice. We have the computers, we have the technology, so we are like never before, at least we are not going to allow fraud. Not a single vote.
RFI: Why have the crimes of the dictatorship, which are precisely those of the Colorado Party, been left out of the campaign?
Efrain Alegre: Notice that both this Cartes and Santiago Peña have vindicated Stronismo. They represent the continuity that comes from the Stroessner dictatorship. Without a doubt. And today the Concertación precisely means democratic consciousness, the true Paraguay that of decent people. That is the Paraguay that will win on April 30. April 30 is Fatherland Day.
