In Latin America, leftist tilt increases

In an interview yesterday, hours after toppling the world's longest-ruling party, Lugo repeated his distaste for labels: "I'm not of the left, nor of the right."

But the former Roman Catholic bishop has said that Marxist-influenced liberation theology inspired his advocacy for the poor, and his victory clearly pushes Paraguay toward the left from the Colorado Party, which has ruled through dictatorship and democracy since 1947, including 35 years under brutal anti-communist General Alfredo Stroessner.

Latin America's shift back toward the left began with the arrival of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez a decade ago, then continued with new presidents in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

"Paraguay's election is just further evidence that Latin America's political geography has changed in basic ways," said Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank.

That said, there's a lot of political space between those leaders. Chávez has nationalized foreign companies and called President Bush the devil. Chile's Michelle Bachelet is a great booster of free-trade whom Bush calls "charming."

Lugo, 56, may find himself somewhere in between. His Patriotic Alliance for Change includes an eclectic array of socialists, centrists, and even conservatives, all of whom will be fighting for a voice in his government.

He said yesterday that his top priority will be to help Indians mired in poverty. He spent much of his campaign traveling to poor Indian villages, where people told him they often go hungry.

He also promises agrarian reform and said he will take steps to ease the plight of 300,000 landless peasant families who work in cotton and soybean fields at paltry wages for rich landowners.

And he whipped up nationalistic fervor by vowing to seek more revenue from Brazil from the world's biggest hydroelectric project, the Itaipu Dam on the two countries' river border. Many Paraguayans believe they don't get enough of the revenue under a contract that expires in 2010.

Gloria Rolon, news editor of the Paraguayan newspaper Ultima Hora, said Lugo would clearly form a leftist government, "but how far left?"

The conservatives in Lugo's coalition will prevent him from doing anything radical, she said, and the Colorado Party still holds a congressional majority and control of the judiciary.

"For this government," she said, "dialogue will be a necessity."

As for relations with Washington, Lugo said he wants friendly ties with all countries but vowed not to be "submissive" to powers large or small.

The United States signaled willingness to work with him. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the elections are a "step forward" after Paraguay's "rather difficult history in terms of the development of democracy."

Both Paraguay and the Vatican ban clergy from seeking political office, so Lugo resigned in December 2006. But the Vatican said bishophood is "for life."

In his interview, Lugo issued a personal apology to the pope for his incursion into politics.