MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
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. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesWhat about the left? Has Lugo or any of his supporters been allowed to stand? Since they won last time, nobody serious is going to believe they just don't exist anymore! Is this really much of an election at all?
Apr 18th, 2013 - 11:07 am - Link - Report abuse 0Cartes' background in 'narcotics, money-laundering and criminal gangs' could be quite useful for the Mercosur nations.
Apr 18th, 2013 - 11:12 am - Link - Report abuse 0He could be Mercosur's gamekeeper.
@1 BK
Apr 18th, 2013 - 01:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Funny that you cry foul here yet you are happy that all the state machinery in Venezuela was used to back Chavez and now Maduro.
Back to Inverkeithing with you laddy.
You're not needed here.
@1 British Kirchnerist (?)
Apr 18th, 2013 - 02:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0In Paraguay the Left is not united, and have at least 3 candidates for President. the one with more chances is Mario Ferreiro, with about 9% of the electorate as per latest polls. The rest of them, including Lugo's Frente Guazu Party, do not make 1% in the polls: http://www.eleccionesparaguay.com/encuestas-presidenciales-paraguay.php
Lugo himself is a candidate for the Senate, but the chances of him winning a seat are very slim.
I will answer 1and 2 . Yes the left does have a presidential candidate , Anibal Carrillo with about 3 percent of the vote . Ex president Lugo is hoping to be elected as senator for the same party Frente Guazu . The low participation in voter intention shows , once again , that this country is not left wing orientated .Could be that after so many years of right wing dictatorship they do not want a left wing one !
Apr 18th, 2013 - 02:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0With regard to Cartes .Does one really believe that he would be allowed to open a bottling plant in the States if he was on the DEA ' s black list ? He was there large as life . True he was accused of banking irregularities but , eventually , found innocent .
The article is right insomuch that it is a two horse race , Cartes or Alegre . But the wild card is Mario Ferreiro of Avanza Pais who currently has ten percent of the pie ! Moderate left winger on the UK Labour Party mold . He was a TV personality and DJ and is doing very well .
The other factor to be considered is the undecided voter , currently ten percent which is high just before an election . Will they go for Ferreiro ? The new , fresh face / party ?
Paraguayans realize that the notion that the government is here to help is simply BS. We have lived through decades of authoritarian rule and don't expect much out of the government. Handouts and subsidies promises are a big joke here. We know the government won't go through with their promise thus the left is unable to muster much of anything here; since we all know that that is how the left obtains power, through promises of free things.
Apr 18th, 2013 - 03:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0#1 and #2 - I understand you two are devout socialists, but consider that many people use your ideolgy to become rich on the backs of the poor. Hugo Chavez lived in utter luxury, and so do the Castro Brothers. Korea's leaders, under the communist flag, have become Gods. Always take into consideration that people have their own personal interests in mind, and not that of the poor. One of the few leaders that I see actually lives by what he says is Uruguay's President. He litereally lives in a shack. I don't agree with his views, yet I do recognize him as truly believing in the socialist principles.
Now, don't think that I trust the Right either. To me they trample over personal freedoms for more economic freedom. I am neither left nor right, and nowhere in between. Instead consider me UP, where both economic and personal freedom are complete. And thus DOWN would be where you have neither economic nor personal freedom; North Korea is a great a example.
@5 and 6
Apr 18th, 2013 - 06:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Very interesting posts.
#2 Sounds like a wholesome guy that the right have boosted =( Clearly the left leaders in mercosur are not the corrupt gang that some people on here think, given their principled stance against these gangsters in Paraguay
Apr 18th, 2013 - 08:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0#6 I'm not sure Geoff is a devout socialist; he certainly doesn't seem to like Cristina, Chavez etc the way I do. But then I think you've said on here before that Bush is/was a socialist?
#8 - Yeah I misplaced Geoff's name in there - sorry Geoff. I consider people like Bush to be socialist because they do things like $600 billion bailout of a bankrupt car company. Since the definition of socialism is the state control of the means of production, I would say that the government bailing out companies (essentially buying them out) is in par with socialism. Again, as I stated above, these socialist leaders always seem to get richer while in office, thus showing their true intentions.
Apr 18th, 2013 - 09:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Lol.
Apr 19th, 2013 - 01:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0No, mates (BAMF, etc), not a socialist of any shade!
And I am much reassured that the DEA-equivalent has ensured that nobody standing for high office has any previous involvement with 'narcotics, money-laundering or criminal gangs'.
This will be a country with whom we can all 'do business'!
Perhaps the new Paraguay can lead the way for all Unasur,
for I am 100% sure that none of the rest can claim such robust ethics.
Only half joking, folks.
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