MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan president beset with 69% disapproval rating and economic downturn

Abdo, who was elected by the Colorado Party in April 2018 with 46% of the vote, narrowly avoided an impeachment over the signing of an energy pact with Brazil

Paraguay’s president, Mario Abdo, has reached his first year in office with a 69% disapproval rating amid an enduring political crisis and a significant economic slowdown, according to a survey published on Wednesday.

Abdo, who was elected by the conservative Colorado Party in April 2018 with 46% of the vote, narrowly avoided an impeachment vote at the start of the month over the signing of an energy pact with Brazil that opposition lawmakers said went against the country’s sovereignty.

Abdo canceled and apologized for the deal, which related to the giant Itaipu hydroelectric plant that straddles the two countries and would have cost Paraguay around US$ 200 million. He enjoys a close relationship with far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Opposition parties have called for public protests to put further pressure on Abdo’s government, which is also grappling with an economic slowdown caused by a fall in agricultural production and global financial turbulence.

The survey, published by the newspaper Ultima Hora, found that 69.3% of respondents among the 1,200 people polled thought the president’s management was “bad or very bad,” compared with 30.7% who considered it “good or very good.” For respondents who declared themselves members of the president’s party, the disapproval rating was 64.8%.

According to a survey by radio station Primero de Marzo, 54.9% of the respondents had qualified Abdo’s government as “bad or very bad.”