By Michael Fox
Venezuelanalysis.com
ASUNCION, Paraguay — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez congratulated Paraguay's President-elect, the progressive former Roman Catholic bishop, Fernando Lugo, on his historic victory on Sunday night. According to Venezuela's Ministry of Foreign Relations, he made the comments by telephone, and "took advantage of the opportunity to recognize the impeccable day of democracy, had by the Paraguayan people...who demonstrated their political maturity."
Chavez and Lugo agreed on the importance of continuing to work towards the South American Union of Nations (UNASUR) and "both presidents expressed their desires to meet as soon as possible in order to talk about cooperation plans," read a communiqué from the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication (MINCI).
The conversation came on the heels of Paraguay's marathon Election Day, where approximately 65% of registered Paraguayans participated in one of the most important civil events in the history of the country. Opposition candidate, and member of the Patriotic Alliance for Change, Fernando Lugo was declared victor shortly after 9 pm, when, his closest competitor, Blanca Olevar, conceded due to the "irreversible" incoming results in his favor.
Lugo won with more than 40% of the votes, and more than 10 points ahead of the conservative Olevar. The results were a landmark in Paraguayan history, as Lugo broke the six-decade grip of the Colorado party over the Paraguayan government.
With the win, Paraguay becomes the latest Latin American country to make a turn towards the left. Lugo, known as the "bishop of the poor", preached for many years in Paraguay's poorest state, San Pedro. He resigned as bishop last year in order to lead the Patriotic Alliance for Change, a hodgepodge of campesinos, social movements, and leftist political parties united to do exactly what it did yesterday: break the unilateral Colorado party system.
The win puts the South American trading block, MERCOSUR, directly in the hands of only progressive governments: Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil.
Lugo takes charge of Paraguay on August 15. Until then, it is difficult to say if he will follow in the footsteps of more radical Latin American leaders such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Ecuador's Rafael Correa, or if he will chose a more restrained liberal democracy position, such as Chile's Michelle Bachellet or Uruguay's Tabare Vasquez.
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