Source: Democracy Now!

“Bishop of Poor” Fernando Lugo Wins Paraguayan Election Ending 61 Years of Conservative Rule

[Upside Down World Reporter Michael Fox was on Democracy Now! this morning about Lugo's win in Paraguay. Video and audio version below.]

 In Paraguay, a former Catholic priest once known as the Bishop of the Poor has been elected president. Fernando Lugo will be the first Paraguayan president since 1946 not to be from the conservative Colorado Party. Lugo won 41 percent of the vote, beating Blanca Ovelar, who received 31 percent. Lugo has pledged to crack down on corruption and channel Paraguay’s wealth into social programs. We go to Asuncion to speak with journalist Michael Fox.

In Paraguay, a former Catholic priest once known as the Bishop of the Poor has been elected president. Fernando Lugo will be the first Paraguayan president since 1946 not to be from the conservative Colorado Party. Lugo won 41 percent of the vote, beating Blanca Ovelar, who received 31 percent. Lugo has pledged to crack down on corruption and channel Paraguay’s wealth into social programs.

Lugo’s win ends more more than six decades of one-party rule in Paraguay. Election officials said Sunday’s voting had the highest turnout — about 66 percent — of any presidential election since 1993.

Lugo is the first bishop ever to become president of a country. Both Paraguay and the Vatican ban clergy from seeking political office, so Lugo resigned in December 2006. Lugo says he was influenced by liberation theology of the 1960s. He told the Associated Press he would not move to the presidential palace, remaining instead in his modest house in a middle-class suburb. He said the first lady would be his eldest sister.

Washington has signaled a willingness to work with Lugo and hailed his election as a “step forward” in Paraguay but a State Department official told the Los Angeles Times that his victory had left Washington worried about its waning influence in Latin America.

In a pre-election interview with the LA Times, Lugo noted Washington"s sometimes-contradictory role in Latin America saying “The United States . . . has sustained the great dictatorships, but afterward lifted the banner of democracy.” He went on to say that Washington must acknowledge a new scenario in which Latin American governments "won"t accept any type of intervention from any country, no matter how big it is."

For more we turn to Michael Fox, a freelance journalist based in Latin America. He joins us on the telephone from the Paraguayan capital, Asunción where is he reporting for Free Speech Radio News and Upside Down World.

Michael Fox, freelance journalist based in Latin America. He joins us on the telephone from the Paraguayan capital, Asunción where is he reporting for Free Speech Radio News and Upside Down World.

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