Politics in Paraguay

All this week I was composing this blog in my head. I was going to describe my living situation, the “Banado” where we are working, list a couple more differences between Paraguay and the DR. But that all changed on Thursday when people began to discuss the impeachment of Paraguay’s president, Fernando Lugo. I’ll preface this explanation by saying that everything I know has been transmitted to me by word of mouth or the Paraguayan press, but there are still a lot of things I’m confused about. Here’s my best attempt to explain the situation:

Lugo has been controversial during his presidency, to say the least. He is an ex-priest, pro liberation theology, while in office admitted to having two illegitimate children, but at the same time brought some beneficial social programs to Paraguay. Given what I knew, and the way people talked about him, I didn’t expect him to be kicked out of office.

On the other hand, politics in Paraguay have not been hunky-dory as of late. Lugo, who belongs to a third party, had to form a coalition with the “Liberal” party to control the government against the “Colorados” when he came into office. That coalition has slowly been weakening to the point of breaking. Last Friday, I was working at the organization I am at in the Banado when we started watching a news story about conflicts over land rights between campesinos and police in a town in the interior of Paraguay. Seventeen people, campesinos and policemen, had been killed. I didn’t realize the severity of the issue; I had heard of previous conflicts over land in that part of the country before, and assumed this was an escalated version of that. But people in the Banado and at the Instituto Nacional de Salud were surprised and frightened by it, and everybody seemed to tell us that this incident implicated something larger for the country. Paraguay is a very pacific country and things of this sort, especially between police and well-armed campesinos (no one knows where they got the weapons from) is rare.

People were still talking about it when we returned to the Banado on Monday, but as far as we knew, it was an isolated incident. Thursday all of the sudden we heard that the “Camera de Diputados” (similar to our house of representatives) had voted to impeach Lugo with only one “Diputado” dissenting. Their reason: mishandeling of the conflict the previous Friday. Lugo would have to prepare his defense and was allowed two hours to present it on Friday. The decision would be made by the Senate by Friday afternoon. Basically, within 36 hours Paraguay could have a new president. People, including many from the Banado and the leader of the community organization we are working with who is a very well known political figure in Paraguay, started flooding the plaza around the government buildings to protest what appeared to them as an undemocratic and unjust process. Thursday night I watched the news with my host family, trying to understand exactly what was happening, why, and how this could unfold and affect the country. Not knowing what the security situation would be like once the decision was made, Vanessa and I decided to travel back to the Instituto Nacional de Salud after lunch on Friday and hunker down there during the proceedings that afternoon.

As we made our way back on the bus, I was surprised that things seemed fairly normal. Our host families were not worried about us riding public transportation. Many buses of people (including our two host moms) had traveled to the plaza that morning to join in the protests, which were largely peaceful. The bus we were on passed about four blocks from the plaza, and though the crowd was not huge (we’ll never know really how many people were there, I heard estimates between 3,000 and 30,000), you could certainly see the entire square filled from where we were watching. We arrived at the INS and tried to get more information and opinions from the staff there. Many of them seemed not to care about politics; they don’t trust politicians and believe they should all be thrown out. Others still said they didn’t care for Lugo but this process seemed completely unjust and undemocratic.

We spent the rest of the evening watching the proceedings in the dorm on TV with several other nurses and doctors who were staying at the dorms as well. The senate voted 34-4 to impeach Lugo. In the meantime, representatives from South American countries had traveled to Paraguay to try to negotiate with the government and prevent the impeachment, as many of those countries saw it as a coup d’etat given the short trial and lack of evidence. Once the verdict was announced, there were several tussles with police in the plaza, and we did see footage of tear gas and hoses sprayed. People dispersed and came back peacefully, things were calmer than I expected. Vanessa and I went out to eat dinner and if it weren’t for the televisions broadcasting the news, you would have never known that an impeachment/coup d’etat just happened. Lugo gave a speech on his way out, calling for non-violence, and the vice president from the Liberal party was sworn in as president. Needless to say, his supporters were thrilled (it’s worth mentioning that his wife is a diputada and also voted for impeachment).

Yesterday things were calm and Vanessa and I kept checking the news to make sure there wasn’t any violence. Thus far, there have been some protests but things have been peaceful. We even went to the mall, where people were going about their daily business, and only heard several people mention Lugo or Franco (the new president). The news has been covering other countries’ reactions to the impeachment/coup: many Latin American countries are refusing to recognize the new president because of the manner in which he came to power. Argentina has officially removed their ambassador and Brasil and Uruguay have called their ambassadors back to their respective countries. The union of South American countries will be meeting this week to decide what further measures to take against Paraguay. What could happen is not yet clear, but if measures are taken it could mean some hard times for the country, since they rely on the other countries for trade and energy.

Vanessa and I have been following everything with a certain fascination. We were at first horrified that a “democratic” government would do such a thing. Given that the dictatorship is only a thing of the recent past, this incident for us suggests that Paraguay is not completely a democracy yet. The Senate and “Camera de Diputados” are not directly elected, rather they are chosen by the party depending on the amount of votes each party gets in an election. The president, on the other hand is directly elected. For the legislature to be able to oust a democratically elected president in such a short time seens unjust.

Another remnant of the dictatorship was seen in the plaza. Over ten years ago there was another protest in the plaza, and things got violent. Snipers that had been placed on the roofs of the buildings shot into the crowd and killed 8 people. This was the government killing its own people. No one had forgotten that incident when the most recent protests began, and people were quick to point out that there were once again snipers on the roofs. It’s hard to tell really why people were so peaceful; was it because they really are a peaceful country (I’ve seen plenty of evidence of this)? Or because they really don’t believe enough in the politics and politicians of their country to fight for them? Or because they were afraid that they might be shot on if they tried to show their feelings in any other way? (I must admit that I’ve been reading the Hunger Games this past week, and perhaps that’s influenced my paranoia a bit, I can’t really say :) ) It's hard to understand what the majority of the population think about this situation, given that I don’t understand everything that has gone on and have only spent several weeks here thus far. I will say this, it’s been a lesson in democracy for me, and I imagine this event, which happened so quickly, could affect Paraguay in a very big way for quite some time.

In case you’re wondering, Vanessa and I are completely safe. Emory/Rollins have been checking up on us constantly since they found out about the impeachment (we appreciate it, however find it a bit comical that the Deans of our school are being copied on all the emails, making it seem urgent, when we went to the mall the other day, are completely safe in our dorms, and see no real threat). We have been checking up on the Embassy website (they have not even issued any warnings after the impeachment Friday) and I have been in contact with a couple of Peace Corps people who have said they are not worried about their volunteers either. So in sum, we’re safe. I’ll keep you all updated and hope to be able to write more about the Banado and my actual work soon.

For a better, comprehensive overview of the situation, here's an article from the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/world/americas/in-paraguay-democracys-all-too-speedy-trial.html?_r=1&ref=world

Those details I should have known earlier

The month before coming to Paraguay I had many people ask me about the basics of the country: population, elevation, temperature, etc... I didn't really have any answers for them, partially because I hadn't done much research on the country itself (though I can tell you all about the adolescent pregnancy rate in PY), and partially because Paraguay isn't necessarily a tourist destination, which means there is not a whole lot of travel literature out there about the country. So here's what I've learned and know this far:

Population: 6.5 million, of which almost 2 million live in and near Asuncion

Elevation/Climate: I'm still not really sure about the elevation, but for some reason I thought it was going to be dry, which it isn't. Even though we're here in winter, it still feels a bit tropical with lots of fruit trees and greenery.

Temperature: Because we're in the Southern hemisphere, it's technically the winter here right now. The past week that I've been here it's actually been between 75 and 85 degrees the whole time, but it's supposed to get colder this week, down to the 60s which doesn't seem that bad until you realize none of the houses are well insulated or have heating. In the summers, temperatures can reach over 100 for days on end, so the houses are designed keep cool in the summers and keep just a little bit of the cold out in the winters. I brought wool socks and a sleeping bag.

To do: Well, everyone has told me there's not a lot to do in Paraguay except see the Iguazu Falls, which I have already seen. The day after I arrived Vanessa and I went to the presidential palace and downtown area where we also saw the legislative palace and walked through a short little market for tourists. We felt a bit like tourists, but this outing was the extent of my tourism here thus far. There are a couple other small towns that we might visit in the future that are also somewhat touristy. It's actually kind of refreshing to be somewhere that isn't teeming with Americans and Europeans snapping pictures.

So that's still about all I know. Where we are staying in Asuncion is actually a somewhat suburban neighborhood, so we are not in the heart of the city, where I imagine we might see more. I imagine we will find some other things to do and see while we are here as time goes on.

Asuncion y Mas Alla

It's hard for me not to compare Paraguay to the Dominican Republic or Argentina, where I have spent a majority of my time abroad. My first impression of Paraguay was that it was a run-down version of a small town in Argentina, maybe Cordoba. As I have walked through the streets of the Banado (the neighborhood where I will be working), I have lamented the absence of some things that I really enjoyed in the DR (motoconchos, jugos naturales, loud bachata and merengue playing and people laughing) while also commenting on the things that are different and would have made life infinitely different for me if I had them in the DR (24 hour water and electricity, a community based organization that is dedicated and truly interested in my work, dulce de leche).

But it's not fair for me to compare this experience to my others. It is a different country, with it's own culture and history. I will also be here a short time with a very specific purpose: to conduct research, which is an experience I did not have in Argentina or the DR and will probably influence my perspective on PY. For those of you interested, I am in Paraguay because a professor of mine has worked here for the past 5 years helping to develop an MPH program (the first in the country). She has an amazing amount of contacts and at one point met a priest who runs a youth development organization in a marginalized neighborhood on the outskirts of town. The previous two years Emory students have gone down to that neighborhood to do research, and this year another public health student, Vanessa, and I have come down to do our own research. I will be implementing and evaluating a pregnancy prevention program which targets mothers of teenagers and gives them skills so they can talk to their children about sex and pregnancy prevention. The program itself is short, and most of my time will be spent administering surveys and conducting focus groups regarding the program and the idea of parent-teen communication.

Vanessa and I will be living in the neighborhood (the Banado) during the week and spending our weekends in Asuncion in dorms that are on the property of the Paraguayan National Institute of Health. This will give us a break from the Banado and allow us to reflect on our experience and work on our projects. Last week, we went out the the Banado and stayed for three days. I had gone out preparing to just visit people, chat, and wander arond (in PCVDR talk, "compartir"). I was not prepared for what actually happened: the day we arrived the administration at Mil Solidarios (the youth development organization) was already asking us for our timelines, research summaries, and when we would begin. That was my first clue that I was not in the DR as a Peace Corps Volunteer any more! So we got to work, meeting with different employees of the organization who are in charge of the after school programs, explaining our research and getting feedback on the best way to go about it. After a hectic six weeks in Atlanta, I had expected to come to Paraguay and slowly work my way back into academic thinking and preparation for my project. Those first three days were a bit overwhelming because I realized that I had a lot to do and not a lot of time. But with the support of the Mil Solidarios team, I think I will be able to have a successful project and hopefully be able to contribute to their work.

More to come later on the Banado...