Meet the candidates for the Presidency of Paraguay

More than 4.7 million Paraguayan citizens are summoned to go to the polls this Sunday, April 30, to elect the country’s new president from among 13 candidates and vote for governors, senators, deputies, and other local authorities.

Of the total number of aspirants to occupy the office of Paraguay’s executive power for the next five years, two stand out as favorites, according to the polls: the opposition candidate Efraín Alegre and the ruling party’s candidate Santiago Peña.

Efraín Alegre, 60 years old and president of the Partido Liberal Radical Auténtico (PLRA), is nominated by the Concertación Nacional para un Nuevo Paraguay, an alliance of 14 opposition parties and organizations.

LIBERALS VS. COLORADOS

Alegre, who has made the fight against corruption his political banner, declares in the profile of his official Twitter account the following:

“I dream of a fairer Paraguay, with more solidarity, where we can live with dignity and be happy in our land, our homeland”.

This is the third time that Alegre has run for the presidency of the South American nation.

Previously, he came second with 37.11%t of the vote (2013) and 43.04% (2018).

En mi gobierno, el pueblo será presidente de Paraguay. Por eso La Cambioneta va por los caminos del cambio a escuchar a nuestros compatriotas. pic.twitter.com/c3ogJX2ilc

— Efraín Alegre (@EfrainAlegre) January 13, 2023

Santiago Peña, a 44-year-old former finance minister, is the contender of the ruling Colorado Party, formally called the National Republican Association (PC-ANR), which since 1954 has governed the country throughout the last decades, except for Fernando Lugo’s term (2008-2012)

The PC-ANR aspirant, who has been an executive of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), summarized in a recent interview his objectives for his eventual government: to boost Paraguay’s integral development through employment, investment in human capital, health, and education.

La educación de calidad es clave para sacar adelante el país. #SantiPresidente#Vamosaestarmejor pic.twitter.com/IRcTNArlOQ

— Santiago Peña (@SantiPenap) April 26, 2023

Paraguay has no run-off election, so whoever obtains the majority of votes on April 30 will assume the country’s presidency on August 15.

Also participating in the presidential elections are:

• Jorge Humberto Gómez Otaño (UNACE Party)
• Euclides Acevedo (New Republic Political Movement)
• Juan Felix Romero Lovera (Humanist and Solidarity Movement)
• Luis Talavera Alegre (UNÁMONOS National Party)
• José Luis Félix Chilavert González (Partido de la Juventud Fuerza Joven)
• Óscar Cañete (Partido Verde Paraguay PVP)
• Prudencio Burgos (Partido Nacional de la Gente 30A)
• Alfredo Machuca (Movimiento Independiente Coordinadora Patriótica Ciudadana)
• Rosa Bogarín (Partido Socialista Democrático Herederos)
• Aurelio Martínez Cabral (Únete Paraguay)
• Payo Cubas (Partido Cruzada Nacional)

With information from teleSUR