Post: #1

Anybody know much about what is going on in Paraguay besides what the media is saying? Glad I got out of there Tuesday before the madness started

Post: #2

Links would be helpful...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/p...story.html

Quote:Paraguay deployed its army Friday to resolve a violent land dispute in a remote northern forest reserve after 17 people were killed in gunbattles between police and landless farmers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/2...T620120621

Quote:Paraguay's Congress moved to impeach leftist President Fernando Lugo on Thursday over charges that he mishandled a land eviction in which 17 police and peasant farmers were killed last week, and the Senate will decide his fate on Friday.

Post: #3

Sorry, I was on my phone... I just left there Tuesday so I got the watch the video of the shootout on TV 100+ times. It seems like an excuse for somebody to seize power but I only say that because I haven't heard much bitching about him... There could be many other reasons. The UNASUR is getting involved today from what I have read.

Post: #4

(06-22-2012 07:45 AM)Jaydublin Wrote:  Sorry, I was on my phone... I just left there Tuesday so I got the watch the video of the shootout on TV 100+ times. It seems like an excuse for somebody to seize power but I only say that because I haven't heard much bitching about him... There could be many other reasons. The UNASUR is getting involved today from what I have read.

Glad you got out in time. How was your time in Paraguay? The girls? A datasheet, even a brief one, would be awesome. Will be touring either Eastern Europe or South America next summer, and paraguay is on my list.

Post: #5

First I've heard of it, the British news aren't reporting on it.

Post: #6

The president was just removed from office and the vice president sworn in too...according to his report...

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06...nd-seizure

Post: #7

What up,

I'm in Asuncion right now. Chronologically, from what I understand:

-- There was a clash between police and peasants when the police went to evict the peasants for trespassing on a wealthy guy's farmland. The peasants argue that the wealthy guy acquired the land through corruption, and that the land should have been redistributed years ago. There was a gunfight and 17 or 18 people, peasants and police both, were killed.

-- After the incident, President Fernando Lugo replaced both his Interior Minister and the Chief of Police. The old Interior Minister was from the Liberales, a powerful centrist political party, but the new one is from a different party. As president, Fernando Lugo has never enjoyed a strong relationship with the Paraguayan legislature, but this move really upset some members of the Liberales.

-- Lugo, an unmarried former Catholic priest who has recently been criticized for fathering children out of wedlock, lost much-needed support from the Liberales. Their support was key to Lugo's presidency because his own party, the reformist Patriotic Alliance for Change, is not powerful enough to single-handedly support Lugo. He was speedily impeached and removed from office, then replaced by his vice-president, Federico Franco. All of this occurred in one day. Franco is a member of the Liberales.

-- Lugo stepped down willingly in compliance with the Senate's 39-4 decision to replace him, but announced that these events constitute a powerfully damaging "blow to Paraguay's democracy." Some have mentioned that it is strange that Lugo was removed like this, with only 9 months to go until the next round of elections.

-- Leaders of other South American nations and multinational organizations are protesting this maneuver as a gross violation of democracy. Rafael Correa of Ecuador was quick to reject the new government, saying that his nation would only recognize a government led by Lugo. Hugo Chavez of Venezuela very bluntly expressed that he considers this to be an illegal, indefensible maneuver that is rooted not in the law but in party politics. Officials in Argentina, Bolivia, and other neighboring countries have expressed similar objections.

Hope that helps. If I have made any mistakes with the facts, please don't hesitate to correct me.