The early vote count in Paraguay’s general election showed ruling Colorado Party candidate Santiago Pena with a significant lead for the presidency over his opposition rival in a race where corruption and the South American country’s alliance with Taiwan took center stage.
(Bloomberg) — The early vote count in Paraguay’s general election showed ruling Colorado Party candidate Santiago Pena with a significant lead for the presidency over his opposition rival in a race where corruption and the South American country’s alliance with Taiwan took center stage.
Pena, 44, a former finance minister, had almost 46 percent of the vote with about 28 percent of voting stations reporting as of 5:56 p.m. local time, according to preliminary results. His main challenger, Efrain Alegre, a former public works minister leading the opposition Concertacion coalition, had about 29% percent of votes.
The candidate who wins a simple majority of votes will start his five-year term on Aug. 15, when incumbent President Mario Abdo Benitez of the Colorado Party steps down. Public opinion surveys had shown a tight race between Alegre and Pena, both of whom held hefty leads over a field of about 10 other contenders.
Paraguay — a landlocked nation about the size of California in the heart of South America — is a major food and renewable energy exporter. Still, its economic growth has averaged about 1.2% in the last five years, and about a quarter of its 7.5 million people live in poverty.
Abdo Benitez’s term was marked by weak growth and high inflation due to punishing droughts, the Covid-19 pandemic, and soaring global food and energy prices. He survived two impeachment attempts, while policy blunders and corruption allegations took a heavy toll on his cabinet.
Corruption became a major issue in the election after the Biden administration sanctioned Vice President Hugo Velazquez and Colorado Party chairman and ex-President Horacio Cartes for alleged corruption and ties to terrorism.
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Preliminary results suggest voters might give the Colorado Party a third consecutive term in office even as the US turns up the pressure on Pena’s political mentor, Cartes, whose business empire includes tobacco and banking assets.
Pena promised to spend more on social programs, infrastructure and housing while leaving the country’s notoriously low taxes unchanged. Boosting growth by attracting more investment would provide the needed tax revenue to pay for that spending, he said.
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Pena has also pledged to maintain Paraguay’s alliance with Taiwan, which in practical terms means his country can’t directly sell its soy and beef to China.
Investors didn’t appear overly concerned ahead of the vote with the currency appreciating 1.4% year-to-date against the dollar. Paraguay’s global bonds returned about 75% during the same period, compared with average gains of 110% for peers in Central and South America, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Paraguay’s approximately 4.8 million registered voters also cast their ballots for all members of Congress, 17 governors and 257 departmental council members.
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