(08/21/09) -

Half of Paraguayans Satisfied with Lugo

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fernando Lugo holds a good level of public support in Paraguay, according to a poll by ICA. 50 per cent of respondents rate their president’s performance as good or very good.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fernando Lugo holds a good level of public support in Paraguay, according to a poll by ICA. 50 per cent of respondents rate their president’s performance as good or very good.

In April 2008, Paraguayans voted in presidential and legislative elections. Lugo, a former Catholic bishop representing the left-leaning Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC), won the ballot with 42.3 per cent of the vote. Presidential candidates in Paraguay are not compelled to garner more than 50 per cent of the vote in order to win the election.

Lugo’s victory ended six decades of one-party rule in Paraguay. The National Republican Association – Red Party (ANR) had been in power since 1947, even during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner. Lugo—who is known in Paraguay as "the Bishop of the Poor"—took office in August 2008.

In April, Lugo acknowledged that he fathered a child in 2006 while he was still a Roman Catholic bishop. Some members of the opposition called on the president to resign, but he declined to do so.

On Aug. 18, Lugo expressed his disapproval of a proposal developed by Congress president Miguel Carrizosa—which seeks to set an agenda for the country on topics such as safety, health and education—saying, "We do not believe in cosmetic formulas which serve the interests of a group of leaders who take over power and from there forget the people. The party leaderships should step down from their pedestal to coexist and debate politics with common people."

Polling Data

How would you rate the performance of Fernando Lugo as president?

Source: ICA
Methodology: Interviews to 2,810 Paraguayan adults, conducted in July 2009. Margin of error is 2.3 per cent.