Anti-corruption bishop Anti-corruption bishop becomes Paraguay pr... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/15/4 Paraguay politics Anti-corruption bishop becomes president of Paraguay • Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales offer statements of support • Presidency is first elected post for Fernando Lugo Associated Press guardian.co.uk, Friday 15 August 2008 17.26 BST Paraguay's president Fernando Lugo greets the crowd after his swearing-in ceremony in Asuncion. Photograph: Ivan Alvarado/Reuters Leftist ex-bishop Fernando Lugo became Paraguay's president today, ending six decades of one-party rule in a key step in the poor South American nation's democratic transformation. Tens of thousands of Paraguayans cheered as Lugo raised his hand in the air and was sworn in, wearing sandals and his trademark white mandarin-collared shirt to set himself apart from the suit-wearing politicians. Speaking in both Spanish and the Guarani indigenous language, Lugo pledged to end the misery and corruption that has defined Paraguay under the Colorado Party, which supported the brutal 1954-1989 dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner and has ruled ever 1 of 3 since. 7/6/09 2:49 PM Anti-corruption bishop Anti-corruption bishop becomes Paraguay pr... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/15/4 His first challenge will be to balance competing and potentially explosive interests. Elements of both the left and right have challenged his authority, raising the specter of political chaos and civil unrest. Landless peasants who have been seizing private property are threatening a much larger wave of invasions on land owned by rich farmers as early as this weekend. Members of his administration also suspect the outgoing government tried to undermine his presidency before it began by allowing critical supplies of fuel and medicine to disappear. The Colorados still control most institutions of government and will likely frustrate efforts at land reform in the small, landlocked country, where corruption is entrenched and an estimated 1% of the people control 77% of the land. Lugo's party, the Patriotic Alliance for Change, has allied with conservative lawmakers for form a tenuous majority in Congress, where most lawmakers remain beholden to the wealthy elite. Still, Lugo was optimistic in his inaugural address, saying transforming Paraguay "won't be easy, but it's not impossible". Even marginal change would be better than the legacy of Colorado rule for rural Paraguayans who often go hungry, said Marcelino Coronol, a 52-year-old Tobaqom Indian who traveled hundreds of miles with his family from the destitute Chaco desert region to attend the ceremony. "I just want him to get rid of the corruption and the inequality so we have a chance at giving my children a future," Coronel said, as his wife nodded in agreement alongside their young son and daughter. "In the Chaco, the government never did anything for us." Blanca Medina, 26, clutched a Paraguayan flag and almost broke into tears describing how she ekes out a living as a maid on a monthly salary of US $75. Lugo, she said, is the first Paraguayan politician who has ever cared about her needs. "He's totally different from all the others," she said. "He's humble and he listens to the people." While Lugo is under pressure to make changes fast, experts don't expect him to govern with sudden decrees like the continent's hardcore leftists, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. They predict he will seek broad support for reforms, in the style of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil's center-left president. Those three leaders were among eight Latin American presidents who attended Friday's 2 of 3 7/6/09 2:49 PM Anti-corruption bishop Anti-corruption bishop becomes Paraguay pr... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/15/4 ceremony and welcomed him into the ranks of the region's growing left-leaning governments. Chavez promised to help Lugo bring "a profound transformation" to Paraguay. "Our friend Fernando will have a revolutionary government, and he'll have difficult times ahead, but we'll support him," Chavez said. "He won't be alone in his task of changing this country in a revolutionary way." Morales, also pledged support: "Bolivia is putting itself at the side of this new administration to work together for the dignity of people neglected for decades due to the hegemony of the powerful groups," he said. Lugo, 57, spent 11 years as a bishop ministering to poor peasants in Paraguay's farmbelt before entering the political scene three years ago. The presidency is his first elected post. Despite receiving belated and unprecedented permission from Pope Benedict to resign as bishop, the new president promised Friday that "this layman will remain faithful to his church." Ads by Google Anti-Corruption Training eLearning and face-to-face from risk management experts www.promontoryts.com Paraguay Map Find Paraguay on Google Maps. Satellite views, terrain & more! maps.google.com Is My Husband Cheating? Test Your Husband & see if he shows any of the 10 common cheating signs Mydailymoment.com guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009 3 of 3 7/6/09 2:49 PM.