A charismatic leader dubbed the Bishop of the Poor is an early favourite to make history as the first man to serve as a Roman Catholic bishop then be elected president of his country. Even when presidential elections next April are still far Fernando Lugo has the support from 40% of voters and is ten points ahead of his runner up.
Paraguay's leading presidential pre-candidate and former bishop Fernando Lugo received this week the formal support from one of the country's main opposition parties the Authentic Liberal Radicals, PLRA.
Few towns in Paraguay's impoverished countryside have a stoplight, well-paved roads or a library. This remote farming community has all three, and residents cite one reason: soybeans.
A former Catholic bishop and pre-candidate from the Paraguayan opposition Fernando Lugo, is leading public opinion polls for presidential elections of April 2008 according to the Sunday edition of Asunción daily Ultima Hora.
Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte lashed out at his US counterpart George W. Bush for failing to contribute to development in poor countries, and hailed Hugo Chávez' Venezuela as a country with an overdose of democracy.
Paraguay's Ministry of Health head nurse died last Friday of hemorrhagic dengue an epidemics caused by a mosquito which is rapidly extending in the landlocked South American country and has 15.000 cases officially confirmed.
Faced with 100.000 cases of dengue infection which have also caused several deaths Paraguayan Congress declared this week a 60 days national emergency and voted funds to combat the Aedes agypty mosquito which transmits the disease.
The United Nations Pan American Health Organization, PAHO, a regional arm of the UN World Health Organization, WHO, is assisting Paraguay in its efforts to control an outbreak of dengue fever that has affected thousands.
A former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo is the candidate with the best image among voters for the 2008 Paraguayan presidential, while current head of state Nicanor Duarte ranks ten, according to a public opinion poll released Tuesday in the capital Asunción.
The Vatican suspended a divinis Paraguayan bishop Fernando Lugo for having resigned last year to his church position to become a candidate for the presidential election of 2008.