2013 Paraguayan general election
General elections were held in Paraguay on 21 April 2013. They resulted in a victory for the Colorado Party, which had ruled the country for 60 years before losing power in 2008. The presidential elections were won by the Colorado Party's Horacio Cartes, who defeated Efraín Alegre of the Paraguay Alegre alliance. The Colorado Party also won the most seats in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies.
Background
In the previous general elections in 2008 Fernando Lugo was elected President. However, he was controversially impeached and removed from office in a 48-hour period in June 2012, following an eviction at a farm that led to the death of six police and eleven farmers. Lugo was replaced by his vice-president Federico Franco. Following the impeachment, Paraguay was suspended from Mercosur and Unasur, who denounced the impeachment as a Congressional coup.Franco was barred from running for a full term in 2013. The Constitution of Paraguay does not allow a president to run for reelection, even if he serves a partial term.
Candidates
Eleven candidates contested the presidential election:| Presidential candidate | Vice-presidential candidate | Party |
| Efraín Alegre | Rafael Filizzola | Paraguay Alegre |
| Ricardo Almada | Librada Martinez | White Party |
| Eduardo Arce | Gloria Bareiro | Workers' Party |
| Aníbal Carrillo | Rafael Aguayo | Guasú Front |
| Miguel Carrizosa | Arsenio Ocampos | Beloved Fatherland Party |
| Horacio Cartes | Juan Afara | Colorado Party |
| Roberto Ferreira | Luis Vallejos | Paraguayan Humanist Party |
| Mario Ferreiro | Cynthia Brizuela | Forward Country |
| Atanasio Galeano | Digno Valdez | Partido Patria Libre |
| Luis Villamayor | ||
| Lilian Soto | Kuña Pyrenda |
Coalitions formed for the election included the:
Forward Country, a centre-left alliance including, amongst others, the Revolutionary Febrerista Party and the Christian Democratic Party.
Frente Guasú, a left-wing alliance including, amongst others, the Party for a Country of Solidarity and the Paraguayan Communist Party.
Paraguay Alegre, a centrist alliance including, amongst others, the Authentic Radical Liberal Party, the Democratic Progressive Party and the National Encounter Party.
On the night of 2 February 2013, Lino Oviedo Silva, the candidate of the right-wing National Union of Ethical Citizens, died in a helicopter accident near Puerto Antequera, in the Chaco region. His death was confirmed the following day, when the national police rescue team found the three burnt corpses of Oviedo, the plane's pilot, and a bodyguard. His candidacy was taken over by his nephew Lino Oviedo Sánchez.
Campaign
Reporters without Borders said in April 2013 that "Paraguay continues to be a dangerous country for journalists, in part because of the links between politics and organized crime, which were widely criticized during the campaign." It noted that two television stations had refused to air a Frente Guasú campaign ad highlighting the role of candidates Cartes and Alegre in the impeachment of Fernando Lugo.During the campaign Cartes made homophobic statements, comparing homosexuals to monkeys and saying he would shoot himself in the testicles if his son turned out to be gay.
Opinion polls
Results
President
¹ The Avanza País was an alliance of the Revolutionary Febrerista Party, Movement for Socialism Party, Christian Democratic Party, Tekopyahú Paraguay Party and April 20 Movement and Democratic Unity for Victory.²The Guasú Front was an alliance of the Party for a Country of Solidarity, Broad Front Party, Social and Popular Block, Party of Citizen Participation, Tekojoja People's Party, Paraguayan Communist Party, Popular Socialist Convergence Party, Party and People's Patriotic Movement, Social and Popular Front, Popular Patriotic Front and Popular Unity Party.