Calay News
This Sunday, presidential and legislative elections will be held in Paraguay, where the outcome is uncertain due to corruption allegations against high-ranking figures in the ruling party and the possible rupture of relations with Taiwan. The 44-year-old economist Santiago Peña, from the conservative Colorado Party, will seek to retain power against Efraín Alegre, a 60-year-old lawyer who leads the center-left coalition Concertación Nacional. The Colorado Party has governed Paraguay since the 1950s, with a single interruption during the left-wing government of Fernando Lugo (2008–2012). The latest polls show a technical tie between Peña and Alegre, indicating that either could be the winner.
The electoral campaign took place amidst US sanctions against some of the most important Colorado leaders, such as former president Horacio Cartes, a wealthy tobacco entrepreneur, party president, and political godfather of candidate Peña. Designated as significantly corrupt by the Department of State in 2022, he was sanctioned in March by the Treasury. The campaign also focused on corruption and organized crime. Paraguay is considered a transit point for drugs from Brazil and Argentina for shipment to Europe and Asia. In 2022, anti-mafia prosecutor Marcelo Pecci and Mayor José Carlos Acevedo were murdered, crimes attributed to drug trafficking.
Although Paraguay has one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America, poverty reaches 24.7%, with huge inequalities. Peña has proposed creating 500,000 jobs, although he has not clarified how. Alegre advocates for incorporating the informal sector, which encompasses 40% of workers.
Controversial foreign policy issues were also raised during the campaign. Alegre insisted on analyzing the continuity of Paraguay’s diplomatic ties with Taiwan, while Peña raised the issue of recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, announcing his willingness to relocate his embassy’s headquarters back to that city, a measure taken by Cartes at the end of his term and reversed by current President Mario Abdo. The presidential election, with only one round, is won with a simple majority for a period of five years without the possibility of reelection.
