“Conservative Party’s Victory in Paraguay’s Presidential Election: Why it Matters for Economic Development and Diplomatic Relations”

The wave of success of the governing party Partido Colorado in Paraguay remains unbroken. In the presidential election, Santiago Peña (44) from the conservative party won 42.7 percent of the votes, the national electoral authority announced on Monday. MP Efraín Alegre (60), who was nominated by several opposition parties and who was about the same in polls, came up with 27.4 percent. The candidate Payo Cubas (61), who appeared as a critic of the system, took third place, all other applicants were far behind.

In the past 76 years, the Partido Colorado has lost just one election in the South American country – and was not in power from 2008 to 2013. Five years ago, Alegre lost to Mario Abdo Benítez, the outgoing incumbent. Abdo Benítez was not allowed to stand again for constitutional reasons – the president is only allowed one term.

Majority also defended in Parliament

In addition to the president, the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the governors were also newly elected on Sunday. According to the electoral authority, the Colorado party also defended its majority in parliament. She also won 15 of the 17 governorships.

“Today we are not celebrating a personal triumph, but the victory of the people who have chosen the path of social peace,” said Peña in his first speech after the election. He also thanked his political mentor, party leader Horacio Cartes. Observers assume that the ex-president will continue to pull the strings in the background in the future.

The tobacco entrepreneur Cartes is one of the richest men in the South American country. Because of allegations of corruption, the US authorities recently put him on the sanctions list and froze his assets in the United States. In addition, Cartes and the incumbent Vice President Hugo Velázquez are said to have contacts with the Shiite organization Hezbollah.

Focus on economic development

Peña used to be finance minister and above all wants to promote the country’s economic development. «Jobs, investments in human capital, health, education. The next few years could be the best years for Paraguay, »said Peña before the vote.

In fact, golden times could come to Paraguay. An agreement with Brazil expires in August, according to which Paraguay must sell its surplus electricity from the Itaipu joint hydroelectric power station to the neighboring country at fixed prices. Paraguay itself only needs about eight percent of its share from the second largest hydroelectric power station in the world for its own energy needs. If it can sell the excess electricity on the open market in the future, it should flush the state treasury with substantial profits.

Why China looked so closely

The election in Paraguay was also followed closely in Beijing. Paraguay is one of the few countries in the world that still maintains relations with Taiwan. Because of Beijing’s one-China policy, countries can only have relations with either Taiwan or China, not both. The influential farmers in Paraguay have long wanted to establish diplomatic relations with China because they believe this will improve export opportunities for soybeans and beef, for example. In contrast to the opposition candidate Alegre, who wanted to establish diplomatic relations with China, Peña will remain loyal to Taiwan.

Paraguay has almost seven million inhabitants and, along with Bolivia, is the only country in South America without access to the sea. The main exports are soy, electricity and beef. During the corona pandemic, numerous opponents of vaccination emigrated from Germany to Paraguay.