The Priest of Paraguay: Fernando Lugo and the Making of a Nation

by Hugh O'Shaughnessy, Edgar Venerando Ruiz Diaz

Paraguay had the oldest one-party regime on earth. Under the 60-year dictatorship of General Alfredo Stroessner's Colorado party, wealth and power became concentrated in the hands of a small few; until elections in 2008 broke the party's hold on the country and promised a newer, more egalitarian future, particularly for the country's indigenous people.

In The Priest of Paraguay Hugh O'Shaughnessy tells the story of how Fernando Lugo, a bishop from a deprived diocese, swept to victory and what this means for his country, Latin America and the wider world. He traces Lugo's life alongside the turbulent history of Paraguay - from his early years in a family which fell victim to Stroessner to his release by the Vatican in order to follow a political calling to the outcry following revelations of illegitimate children. The book also examines what may lie in store for the newest addition to Latin America's 'pink tide' of socialist and social democratic countries.

This is history of a fascinating but largely unknown country by one of the most respected commentators on Latin America.

Genres: History

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Mark Hebden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short biography of Fernando Lugo, the president of Paraguay. From his humble origins as a Catholic priest to join the ranks of the leftist bloc of Latin American leaders as president of his native land. It is quite a short book and easy to digest. One of the main themes is the constant problems with the catholic church when it comes to progressive leadership, John XXIII aside who promoted the Vatican II reforms in Latin America. It was published in 2009 but was only able to fit the recent revelations about Lugo’s illegitimate children in to the epilogue which is unfortunate as this may have struck a slightly different tone to the overall nature of the text, if not the man since you private life should not delineate your professional ability. What comes through in the book is Lugo’s desire to improve the lot of the poor in one of the poorest countries in South America and the usual nasty tactics on the side of the right to halt any progressive agenda, seen in Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela and most extremely Haiti. After the military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner fell and 60 years of one party rule came to an end the change to a true progressive democrat Frenando Lugo was necessary and welcome. Hopefully future editions of this book will not focus on sexual scandal and be able to look back on a period of stable government within the 21st Century Socialism framework that is steadily fortifying the whole of South America.