Paraguay heads to the polls on Sunday to elect a new world president

Paraguayans go to the polls on Sunday (30) to elect a new president, deputies and senators for the country. Unlike Brazil, in Paraguay There is no second round that it Candidates may not be re-elected.

The main themes of this year’s campaign were the economy, corruption and ending longstanding diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of China. The two main presidential candidates are Santiago Peña, 44, an economist in Partido Colorado, and Efraín Alegre, 60, a lawyer with the Concertación Nacional.

The agricultural nation of just under 7 million people will go to the polls to choose between Peña and Allegri, who leads a broad center-left coalition that pledges foreign policy reforms.

Polls show a close race, Even a technical draw. The Colorado Party, which is currently in power, has dominated Paraguayan politics for the past 75 years, but persistent corruption allegations have dampened support for the party.

The Colorado Party has ruled the country without interruption since the 1950s, with the exception of Fernando Lugo’s 2008-2012 presidency, which ended in impeachment. Many voters say it is time for something new.

Peña’s candidacy could be affected by a US-led corruption investigation into Horacio Cartes, the former president of Colorado who led the country from 2013 to 2018. Cartes, who denies the allegations, still runs the party and is the main supporter of Feather.

The current president, Mario Abdou Benítez, did not support Peña enthusiastically and went so far as to say that Peña was not the best candidate.

The opposition party narrowly lost the 2018 election, and this year it has launched a more competitive street campaign, said Marcos Perez Talia, a political scientist at the University of Valencia.

“Now the constituency is a broader space for people to come together and there are more opportunities to transform the vote,” he said.

However, the Colorado party maintains a strong campaign machine and support base that goes back generations. That could tip the outcome in your favor, said Marcelo Lachey, a political science professor based in Paraguay.