News Analysis: In Paraguay,

artappraiser — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 21:18:29 +0000

In reply to Paraguay President Fernando Lugo impeached by congress

News Analysis: In Paraguay, Democracy’s All-Too-Speedy Trial
By Simon Romero, New York Times, June 23/24, 2012

RIO DE JANEIRO — In the span of a few hours on Friday, Paraguay’s Senate convened its members, read a list of accusations and put President Fernando Lugo on trial. Dismissing his request for more time to mount his defense, the senators abruptly voted to oust him from office, spurring a fierce debate across Latin America over the fragility of democratic institutions in a region with a long history of dictatorships.

And late Saturday, both Brazil and Argentina, which wield considerable economic influence in Paraguay, said they were withdrawing their ambassadors to Asunción because of the action against Mr. Lugo.

The Senate’s rush to remove Mr. Lugo, who accepted the vote’s outcome and was quickly replaced by Vice President Federico Franco, was even more confounding since the next presidential elections in Paraguay are just nine months away. Various regional leaders, including Presidents Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, denounced the ouster as a coup d’état.

Various takes on that assertion quickly surfaced around the region, including descriptions of the ouster as a “parliamentary coup,” a “constitutional coup,” even a “golpeachment,” [....]

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News Analysis: In Paraguay,