Paraguay: unrest

Written by David Fletcher 07 Apr 2017
Paraguay: unrest

In 2014 shocking corruption was reported in Paraguay. The frontrunner in the presidential election, Horacio Cartes, described as a homophobe, was jailed after accusations of currency fraud, investigated for alleged tax evasion, and widely accused of drug trafficking. He is now President Cartes, attempting to run for office again in 2018. This decision led to protests and violent unrest. Police killed one protester. Cartes’ attempt to seek the second term in office has been through behind-the-scenes wrangling. By constitutional law he should not run for office again. The first round of talks to settle the volatile political crisis around his attempt for re-election ended with no progress on Wednesday. Oxfam reports that 90% of the land is owned by 5% of the population. The government talks about presidential re-election and constitutional amendments while the people are without schools or health services. See

Additional Info