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Paraguay Ends 61 Years of One-Party Rule
FrontLines - February 2009
The year 2008 marked a momentous period in Paraguay’s history.
In April, former Roman Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo won a decisive electoral victory, overturning 61 years of uninterrupted
one-party rule by the Colorado Party (known formally as the Asociacion Nacional Republicana). This was the first peaceful and democratic transition of power between political parties in the nearly 200 years since Paraguay’s independence in 1811.
USAID’s Office of Democracy and Governance (DG) helped build public trust by supporting international and domestic election observers through the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). The election period was tense, with polls indicating a tight race between the Colorado party candidate Blanca Ovelar, and Lugo.
Michael Svetlik, vice president
of programs at IFES, said: “The international observation of the election lent legitimacy to the process and ensured that result was accepted by all parties.”
IFES election experts conducted
an intensive pre-election assessment and monitored the electoral process. The result was a series of recommendations for electoral officials.
IFES also fielded a delegation of international observers led by Andres Pastrana, the former president
of Colombia. The team gained the confidence of electoral authorities and political parties.
“Leading up to April 20, many Paraguayan citizens, NGOs, the media, and the campaigns themselves,
openly expressed fears that the elections would be marred by fraud or manipulation,”
said USAID’s Paraguay Mission Director John Beed.
An observer from IFES’ international monitoring team watches as Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice poll workers assist a voter at a local polling station during the 2008 Paraguayan general election.
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“In this tense and uncertain environment, the credibility and on-the-ground work of the IFES delegation with all political parties,
the electoral tribunal, and civil society actors played a crucial role in restoring public confidence
and ensuring a highly-transparent
election process,” he added.
USAID worked with a consortium
of Paraguayan NGOs, known as SAKA, to field an extensive domestic observation team. While international observers
had greater access to the media and to election officials, domestic observation ensured that citizens provided oversight to their own elections.
The citizens of Paraguay spoke clearly for Lugo and for change through the ballot box. After his first 100 days in office, President Lugo still enjoyed strong popular support, with over 80 percent of citizens having a favorable or highly-favorable opinion of him.
Yet the honeymoon period is always short for leaders, particularly
in a country like Paraguay where an estimated 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, income inequality is stark, and access to basic services,
health care, and education is constrained.
Lugo faces sky-high expectations
and numerous challenges in this landlocked South American country, but his administration will not be tackling the issues alone. As a result of a 2008 meeting
in Washington between Lugo and President Bush, the United States committed to doubling USAID development cooperation with Paraguay, with the mission’s 2009 fiscal year funding for democracy, economic growth, and public health initiatives expected to total $20 million.
★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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