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LatinNews Daily - 22 January 2020

PARAGUAY: Abdo Benítez feels the heat

Analysis:

This would be the second impeachment trial that Abdo Benítez faces in under a year, after he survived an impeachment motion last August. With a minority in congress, the opposition knows that such a motion would not pass unless the dissident Honor Colorado faction in the ruling Asociación Nacional Republicana-Partido Colorado (ANR-PC) party turns against Abdo Benítez (which it did not do in August). Abdo Benítez and his Colorado Añetete faction are therefore under pressure to keep the Honor Colorado faction, loyal to former president Horacio Cartes (2013-2018), onside, amid growing tensions in government over where the responsibility for the prison break lies.

  • Lawmakers from different opposition parties told the press yesterday that they were concerned by the government and justice system’s incapacity to prevent the mass prison break. They are calling for the resignation of Interior Minister Euclides Acevedo, Justice Minister Cecilia Pérez and Defence Minister Bernardino Soto Estigarribia over their responsibility in this “international embarrassment”
  • The possibility of launching impeachment proceedings against Abdo Benítez was not discarded, but although they hold the president responsible for the overall security failings, opposition senators were cautious in their comments to journalists on the matter.
  • As well as this threat from the opposition which could heighten tensions within the ANR-PC, Abdo Benítez faces challenges in government. The mass prison break has brought to light negligence and suspicions of deep-rooted corruption amongst high-ranking officials, with the justice ministry and public prosecutors now mutually accusing each other of failing to take necessary action following warnings by the justice ministry in December 2019 that a prison break was being planned.    
Looking Ahead: Adding to Abdo Benítez’s difficulties (and hindering his efforts to take action on the challenges he faces), the president has been diagnosed with dengue. He was forced to interrupt his official agenda yesterday, and the health minister confirmed the diagnosis early today (22 January). 

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