The Americas | Stability amid chaos

Santiago Peña, a former economist, is Paraguay’s next president

But a nationalist firebrand got 23% of the vote

TOPSHOT - Paraguayan presidential candidate for the Colorado Party, Santiago Peña (C), celebrates with his wife, Leticia Ocampos de Pea (R), and Paraguayan former President Horacio Cartes, after winning the presidential election in Asuncion on April 30, 2023. - Paraguayans went to the polls Sunday to pick a president they hope will tackle endemic corruption, rising crime and economic inequality, with the election potentially impacting the country's future ties with Taiwan. (Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE / AFP) (Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images)
|ASUNCIÓN

Pundits predicted a tight race. In the end, it wasn’t even close. Santiago Peña, a 44-year-old former finance minister and economist at the IMF, took nearly 43% of votes in Paraguay’s presidential election on April 30th. Mr Peña hails from the conservative Colorado Party that currently governs the country. By the time his five-year term, which begins on August 15th, is over, the Colorados will have held power for 75 out of the last 80 years.

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Stability amid chaos”

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