PARAGUAY: PRESIDENT LUIS GONZALEZ MACCHI IMPEACHED.
In the latest blow to beleaguered Paraguayan President Luis Gonzalez Macchi, the country's lower house voted on Dec. 5 to begin impeachment proceedings against him. The action could worsen Paraguay's already critical political and economic picture.
This year has been a difficult one for both the president and the country. Economists predict the economy will contract by 4% this year. The national currency has lost 30% of its value against the dollar since January. The government may be unable to give civil servants their paychecks and year-end bonuses. At the end of November, the finance minister and the president of the Banco Central both resigned. While politicians maneuver with an eye toward upcoming presidential elections, the country is on the verge of bankruptcy and struggling to avoid an Argentine-style collapse.
Support for impeachment
The Camara de Diputados voted 50 to 0, with 11 abstentions, to charge Gonzalez Macchi on counts including corruption and bad management. The matter now goes to the Senate where a two-thirds majority would be needed to remove the president from office. Both houses of Congress are dominated by the governing Asociacion Nacional Republicana (ANR, Partido Colorado).
During the crowded session, Deputy Blas Llano of the Partido Liberal Radical Autentico (PLRA) introduced the motion for impeachment, saying at least three serious allegations of corruption have been lodged against Gonzalez Macchi. He is accused of illegally diverting US$16 million from two banks, questionable use of discretionary funds, and buying a luxury BMW that was stolen in Brazil (see NotiSur, 2002-07-26).
If Gonzalez Macchi were removed from office, he would be replaced by Congress president Juan Carlos Galaverna of the Partido Colorado. Galaverna, a controversial lawmaker, has used various delaying tactics as head of Congress to avoid electing a new vice president, which many see as evidence that he wants to be in the position to take over if Gonzalez Macchi steps down or is impeached.
Julio Cesar Franco of the PLRA, who was elected vice president in August 2000, resigned in October to run for president. The vice presidency had been vacant since the March 1999 assassination of Luis Maria Argana. Circumstances surrounding the assassination led to the resignation of then President Raul Cubas Grau. At that point Gonzalez Macchi, then Senate president, assumed the presidency (see NotiSur, 1999-03-26).
Gonzalez Macchi, whose term ends in...
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