June 23, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in Paraguay think president-elect Fernando Lugo will lead a good administration, according to a poll by Ati Snead published in La Nación. 85.5 per cent of respondents feel optimistic about Lugo’s government.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in Paraguay think president-elect Fernando Lugo will lead a good administration, according to a poll by Ati Snead published in La Nación. 85.5 per cent of respondents feel optimistic about Lugo’s government.

In April, 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 is expected to be sworn in on Aug. 15.

On Jun. 13, Lugo named Miguel López Perito—a former leader of a leftist organization that attempted to overthrow Stroessner—as his chief of staff. Perito commented on his militant past, saying that it was relevant at the time because it was "part of the fight for democracy, social justice and to bring an end to the repression of the peasants, students, workers, and the opposition, (but) now we live in different times."

Polling Data

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the government of Fernando Lugo?

Optimistic	85.5%
Uncertain	11.7%
Pessimistic	1.1%
Not sure	1.7%

Source: Ati Snead / La Nación
Methodology: Interviews with 1,500 Paraguayan adults, conducted from Jun. 1 to Jun. 6, 2008. Margin of error is 2.9 per cent.