Paraguay
ParaguayUnited States, Peru and Chile congratulate Cartes and the Paraguayan people
United States, Peru and Chile among others extended their congratulations to president-elect Horacio Cartes and to the Paraguayan people for the ‘extraordinary’ Election Day last Sunday and their significant turnout in such special circumstances.
Cartes pledges allegiance to Mercosur: abandoning it ‘would be utterly nonsense’
President-elect Horacio Cartes said that even when some aspects of Mercosur can be improved it “would be utterly nonsense” to abandon the block since it generates many jobs in the country, attracts investment and is an opportunity to open markets.
Brazil conditions Paraguay’s return to Mercosur to approval of Venezuela’s membership
Brazil conditions the immediate return of Paraguay to Mercosur to the approval, by the new congress, of Venezuela’s full incorporation to the trade block, according to the influential Folha de Sao Paulo quoting foreign ministry reliable sources.
Cartes invites the opposition to work with him and sends message to Brazil
In his victory speech Paraguay president-elect Horacio Cartes said he expects to win the confidence of all the Paraguayan population and called on the opposition to work for the good of the nation. He also had a direct reference to the neighbouring giant saying he wanted to work with Brazil, a ‘brother-country’.
Cartes, a self-made millionaire who has pledged to transform Paraguay
President-elect Horacio Cartes is one of Paraguay's wealthiest men with businesses in tobacco, finance, farming, retail and the soft drinks industry among others. Brash and ambitious, Cartes had never voted before joining the conservative Colorado Party in 2009.
Cristina Fernandez and Mujica tell Cartes, Mercosur ‘is waiting for the return of Paraguay’
Argentine president Cristina Fernandez congratulated Paraguayan president-elect Horacio Cartes for his ample victory in Sunday’s election and said Mercosur was waiting for the return of the country to the trade block.
Paraguay’s Colorados back in office; opposition admits defeat; observers praise election process
Millionaire businessman Horacio Cartes won Paraguay's Sunday presidential election, returning the powerful centre-right Colorado Party to power after a brief spell started in 2008 ended in impeachment last year. Cartes won with a 9 or 10 percentage point lead over Efrain Alegre of the ruling Liberal Party, the head of the country's electoral tribunal said.
“Democracy in Paraguay is here to stay: Mercosur and Unasur have become irrelevant”
“We’re optimistic about Sunday’s election and the future of Paraguay if we can agree on long term state policies, but something is for certain: democracy in Paraguay is here to stay” said Ricardo Caballero Aquino, Chargé d’affaires of the Paraguayan embassy in Montevideo who was also positive about future relations with Unasur and Mercosur.
Paraguay elects president on Sunday but return to Unasur still distant
Paraguay will be electing a new president on Sunday and its re-incorporation to the Union of South American Nations, Unasur could happen under the new government anticipated Salomon Lerner, chief observer of the regional group.
Cartes and Alegre with best chances of becoming Paraguayan president on Sunday
On Thursday evening all of Paraguayan presidential candidates will be holding their final rallies after which begins a 48-hour ban of all electoral activities ahead of Sunday’s general election. Two candidates outstand in the dispute, Horacio Cartes from the Colorado party and Efrain Alegre from the ruling coalition headed by the Liberals.

