July 23, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Paraguay want the new government to focus on creating more jobs, according to a poll by GEO and Transparencia Paraguay. 38.6 per cent of respondents think unemployment should the main priority for the administration.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Paraguay want the new government to focus on creating more jobs, according to a poll by GEO and Transparencia Paraguay. 38.6 per cent of respondents think unemployment should the main priority for the administration.

Crime is second on the list of key concerns with 19.9 per cent, followed by corruption with 18.1 per cent, the economic crisis with 8.5 per cent, public health with 4.1 per cent, and lack of justice with 3.5 per cent.

In April, Paraguayans voted in presidential and legislative elections. Fernando 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 is expected to be sworn in on Aug. 15.

According to official figures, Paraguay’s unemployment rate currently stands at 11.4 per cent.

In late June, Lugo expressed his willingness to create more jobs, saying, "Here not many people have had opportunities, especially the young. (...) My government will do everything it can" to tackle "growing poverty."

Polling Data

Which problem should be the main priority for the government?

Unemployment	38.6%
Crime	19.9%
Corruption	18.1%
Economic crisis	8.5%
Public health	4.1%
Lack of justice	3.5%

Source: GEO / Transparencia Paraguay
Methodology: Interviews to 1,200 Paraguayan adults, conducted from May 16 to Jun. 10, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.