MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peña highlights Paraguay's values and traditions

“Paraguay's history reveals an unwavering defense of the great values of freedom, family, tradition, and God,” Peña noted

President Santiago Peña insisted on the opening day of the IV Madrid Forum at the Banco Central del Paraguay's (BCP) headquarters in Asunción that his country was committed to defending its values, traditions, and sovereignty against globalism, which he described as an ideology imposing a uniform worldview disconnected from history and culture.

Paraguay is a “moral bastion” and “guardian of values” like family, freedom, and faith, rejecting relativism and defending traditional marriage and community as societal foundations, Peña highlighted. Paraguay's foreign policy is guided not by temporary interests, but by true principles, he also pointed out. In addition, he expressed strong support for Israel and positioned Paraguay as a regional example of resisting foreign ideologies.

“My country has never given up the fight for true values; on the contrary, it has been fighting for it for decades, even when very few were learning to stand up against foreign impositions, against dominant ideologies, and that Paraguayan history reveals an unwavering defense of the great values of freedom, family, tradition, and God,” Peña further noted.

The forum, attended by regional and European right-wing leaders, including VOX's Santiago Abascal, Chile's José Antonio Kast, Salma Agüero and Raúl Latorre of Paraguay, and Israeli Ambassador Amit Mekel, focused on countering socialism, defending traditional family values, and promoting market freedom.

Abascal praised Peña for defending sovereignty and common-sense values, while Paraguayan Lower House Speaker Latorre underscored his country's sustainable development and constitutional protection of family and faith.

The Madrid Forum has been held since 2022 in Bogota, Lima, and Buenos Aires. This year's edition, the first in Asunción, drew over 1,500 attendees and 40 panelists.

Madrid Forum Director Eduardo Cader of El Salvador underlined the opportunity to strengthen certain political values in the upcoming seven elections across the region (Honduras, Bolivia, and Chile this year, plus Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil in 2026). He cited the victories of Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, Javier Milei in Argentina, and Donald Trump in the US as examples of a revitalized right-wing movement.