Paraguay to have first woman president
ASUNCION (AFP) — Paraguay will have a woman president for the first time in its history, at least temporarily, after outgoing leader Horacio Cartes stepped down yesterday ahead of schedule.
Vice President Alicia Pucheta, 68, will complete Cartes’ mandate after he resigned to become a senator.
On Aug. 15, fellow conservative Mario Abdo Benitez, elected in April 22 polls, will begin his five-year term as president of one of Latin America’s poorest countries.
The parliament is due to confirm Cartes’ resignation and proclaim Pucheta as interim president on Thursday.
Opposed to the legalization of abortion, Pucheta is from the right-wing Colorado Party, which has been in power in Asuncion for decades.
Opposition senator Desiree Masi said she does not see Pucheta’s nomination as an advance for women in Paraguay.
”A woman who has shown her complete submission to those in power does not represent us,” she said.
“One day, a woman will be come to power as she should, through the ballot box,” Masi said.
But Lilian Samaniego, a senator from the Colorado Party, hailed the former lawyer’s accession to the position as an example to “motivate Paraguayan women to continue to fight for real equality of opportunity with men.”