2023-05-01 04:26:44
From Asunción
Paraguay chose continuity and broadly ratified it in support of its new president, the economist santiago pena, who obtained 42.74% of the votes. It was a predictable endorsement, opted for the opposition fragmentation that was added between the two candidates that followed him, Ephraim Alegre of the Concertación (27.49%) and Paraguayan Payo Cubas (22.92%), percentages higher than those obtained by the young man who led the conservative formula Colorado party. The third in the vote was one of the surprises of the national election, with its tirades to the ruling class and an incendiary dialectic. If the elections admit an additional reading, which exceeds the borders of the neighboring country, former president Horacio Cartes was also victorious. Reached for allegations of corruption of the United States government, he was seen together with the newly elected president as soon as the irreversible trend that gave the ruling party the victory was known.
cartes the godfather
“I want to thank the thousands of Paraguayans who gave us their dreams during these long days, who trusted in this conciliatory and patriotic project that placed their hopes in our hands so that tomorrow we can be better. And we are going to be better ”started the short speech of the president-elect at the headquarters of the ruling Party. Next to him was Cartes, with a contained smile that he did not hide. Peña continued appealing to the lyrics of a song that is born from the colorado identity: “Democracy is my flag but with bread, because freedom is a lie in misery,” he said.
In a gesture that perhaps shows how he will govern and with what political reference he will continue to identify himself, the young president dedicated a few laudatory words to his mentor. “My dear Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara, I admire the immensity of your qualified obstinacy for the fate of the Colorado Party”, ripped verbatim. And she thanked him because he “refounded” the political force to which they both belong. “Thank you for this victory,” she celebrated, “thank you for this Paraguayan victory,” she finished, and immediately afterwards the two embraced.
The joy exuded by the authorities of the winning party contrasted with the delayed appearance of Ephraim Alegre before the press. “The message is very clear, the citizens tell us that united we are the majority, it is a pending task that remains for the National Concertation: to fight. There is great hope for change in the country and they are asking us for a project that will unite it,” he declared, accompanied by his running mate, Soledad Núñez.
With a rapid vote count counted after 9:00 p.m. – it reached 99.62 percent -, Peña’s indisputable advantage over Alegre reached just over fifteen percentage points. The former obtained 1,287,208 votes against 827,982 for his main rival. The unclassifiable Payo Cubas, With his strong anti-corruption and heavy-handed speech, but at the same time a supporter of a certain agrarian reform and cannabis plantations – “First class Marijuana” was one of his slogans – he accumulated a flow of votes as unexpected as it was overwhelming in recent days campaign. It was perceived on the street that his candidacy was growing and he just grew. He added 690,424 votes, which meant 22.92%, which placed him just 4.5 points below Alegre.
Chilavert, testimonial presence
The other candidates for president were far from the three best positioned, most with percentages below one percent. Except for former Colorado Foreign Minister Euclides Acevedo who collected a meager 1.36 percent, the others had a token presence. The most emblematic case of this electoral offer was that of José Luis Chilavert. The former goalkeeper from Vélez, San Lorenzo and the Paraguayan National Team, barely reached 24,184 votes, that is, 0.80 of his standard. The blank votes did not add up to considerable figures either. There were 68,018, although above all these presidential candidacies that in Argentina had not passed the STEP.
The most colorful Congress
The parliament that renewed 45 seats for senators and 80 for representatives, will now see how a red tide spreads that grew if compared to the composition of Congress until today. Those who remain in charge of the two main districts of the country will also be governors of the ruling party: Central (which surrounds this capital, a sum of urban conglomerates similar to Greater Buenos Aires due to their electoral weight) and Alto Paraná, whose capital is Ciudad del East, located in the Triple Frontier.
At 5:45 p.m. (6:45 p.m. in Argentina), one hour and 45 minutes after the election ended, the Colorado Party announced its irreversible victory. So early, without mysteries or tensions due to the rapid count, its authorities only admitted that one ingredient of the foreseeable outcome remained to be known. For how much would Santi Peña, the new head of state, win, but not necessarily the one who holds power. The flattering speech he dedicated to his political godfather, Cartes, is an unavoidable fact that left the comfortable victory of the Colorado Party. He once again ratified his arrival through different channels to 63.22 percent of the electorate that inaugurated the electronic ballot boxes. A fairly high percentage of attendance, although it did not break the record set in 1998 when another Colorado president, Raúl Cubas Grau, won the elections 25 years ago.
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