Paraguay Presidential Election: 'Pro-Taiwan' Pe?a Wins, Continuing 70-Year Ruling Party History

In the Paraguay presidential election, which drew attention as a proxy war between China and Taiwan, Santiago Pe?a (44), a pro-Taiwan right-wing candidate from the ruling party, won the victory.

Pe?a, a candidate from the Colorado Party (National Republican Association·ANR), won the election held on the 30th (local time) with 43.07% of the vote based on a 92.24% vote count. His opponent, Efra?n Alegre (60), received only 27.49% of the votes.

Santiago Pe?a, President-elect of Paraguay
[Photo by AFP]

At around 7:35 p.m. that day, Pe?a gave an acceptance speech at the Asunci?n party headquarters, calling it "a great victory for the Colorado Party" and saying, "I will lead the way to create a better future for our homeland together with you."

The election showed Pe?a’s advantage from the early stages of vote counting. He led by more than 10 percentage points initially, and the gap widened as time went on.

With Pe?a’s victory, the Colorado Party, which has maintained its ruling position for over 70 years, has preserved its stronghold. The Colorado Party has held the presidency for 71 years except for four years (2008?2012) since 1974. It lost once to Fernando Lugo (71), a former president with a moderate left-wing stance, but Lugo was impeached mid-term by the ruling elite and did not complete his term.

With Pe?a’s win, who showed a pro-Taiwan stance against the pro-China candidate Alegre, relations with Taiwan are expected to further improve. Paraguay is one of Taiwan’s 13 diplomatic allies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.