The Political Process and Election Day

The Political Process:

Although the political process has recently culminated with the national elections, I’ve been witness to the political process since the first day I arrived. At that time seven months ago, already there was plenty of infighting among the parties themselves to establish their candidates through the primary elections. Political posters lined the walls of unkempt buildings and hastily but well-hand-painted murals allured voters to support those candidates who could print and glue up the most paper or empty the most gallons of paint in the race. This tendency continued throughout the generals elections: as old posters got wet or torn down, new ones were pasted up, and when the rugrats representing one party graffitied the mural of another, it was fixed again and painted over many times. For months the city was awash in a sea of red, blue, and green, painted or plastered tit-for-tat political advertising and bickering.

The general population, too, represented well this sea of opinion and political fighting. I think many Paraguayans like the elections because it means they’ll get a crummy new t-shirt or cardboard hat free of cost. Nearly every street vendor or walking homeless person, and in fact many street vendors who are probably walking homeless people, too, wore new bright white t-shirts that supported the major candidates. They weren’t nice well-knit t-shirts, by any means, but instead the single-stringed white variety a normal person would wear as an undershirt. Although they were poor quality, however, their message was loud and clear for one party or for another and those who wore them seemed content enough to have some new strings.

As an American witnessing new democracy in action, the funniest aspect of the political campaign was seeing the party cars that drove down side the small side streets and through the large avenues that blared party music. Each candidate had a prerecorded message championing their candidacy along with a bite-sized jingle. Lugo, for example, had a song called “Lugo Tiene Corazon” or “Lugo Has Heart” that I can sing for you when I get back. These travelling propagandizers blared their songs and made their political promises seemingly at all hours of the day, hoping to win the votes of la gente with the big-old speakers and unforgettable speals.

Election Day

It’s already been almost an entire week since election day, and the shock of the elections still hasn’t worn off. Before I go into results, though, I’ll describe the day itself. The elections were held last Sunday, April 19th, all across Paraguay in a sort of quasi-national holiday. The Paraguayan government prohibits the sale of alcohol on election day along with the meetings of any social or religious groups, so the mundanos, or those from the world, couldn’t drink on the day and los cristianos couldn’t go to church. Our own meeting at the Apostolic Christian Church was, along with others across the country, was cancelled so that people could claim no excuse not to vote. Nationwide the method apparently worked, because nearly two-thirds of eligible voters turned out in the election.

Election day itself was, thankfully, quiet and peaceful. Vans, buses, and other vehicles that the political parties sponsored slowly and methodically canvassed neighborhoods to carry their own party faithful to the voting booths. Some parties even reimbursed cross-country bus tickets so that those who had moved far away from their registered voting locale could return home to support their party in the election (think of the Republican Party buying me a plane ticket from DC so that I could go home to vote for them in Ohio! What an idea…) Needless to say, many people from church took advantage of the free trip to go home to San Pedro on the other side of the country and vote.

When the final results were tallied up, the former bishop of San Pedro, Fernando :Lugo, was declared the winner of the presidential election with around 42 percent of the vote. Thankfully, the elections were quick, clean, clear, and cut sharply. Lugo’s win is historic, ending the longest-running national political machine in world history; after 61 years in power, a former man of the cloth has dethroned the ruling and firmly-established Colorado party from executive power. This win represents real change for Paraguay, and the upcoming months will see an unprecedented transition of democratically-elected power in this developing nation. Although many disagree with Lugo as a bishop running for office or think of him as a seedy tool of the left, there’s no doubt that he will breath a breath fresh air into the Paragauyan government when he takes office in August. I had the chance to visit downtown last Monday, the day after the elections, and it seemed as if the entire city had a new spirit about it. The corruption of the Colorado had finally been purged, and the city felt like it was breathing new life for the first time in decades.

For an interesting discussion of Lugo’s now in-limbo position of authority as a Catholic bishop, check out this Catholic canon lawyer´s commentary and insight ­­­­. The steps that the Roman Catholic Church now takes to deal with Lugo’s situation will reveal much about the Church itself, and will no doubt have a huge impact on Paraguay, whose current president-elect is a former/still sort of bishop.