VP-elect says Lugo will govern Paraguay as moderate leftist

Paraguayan President-elect Fernando Lugo will adopt a moderate leftist program like that of Chile, Uruguay or Brazil rather than fall under the orbit of socialist Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, the vice president-elect said.

"We want to learn a lot from those governments; we want to go out and learn more about them, above all about Chile, which has done things very well," Federico Franco, leader of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party, or PLRA, said in an interview that Chilean daily El Mercurio published Saturday.

In the interview, Franco ruled out that the 56-year-old Lugo - a former Catholic bishop who was backed by the PLRA-led Patriotic Alliance for Change, a coalition of center and center-left parties - will link his administration with the "Chavista" bloc in the region.

He was referring to crude-rich Venezuela and its allies Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba, which all are harshly critical of U.S. influence in the region and blame capitalism and "neo-liberalism" for the region's endemic poverty.

Venezuela's Chavez in particular is frequently accused by his critics of being a radical populist who uses oil diplomacy to spread his leftist vision throughout Latin America.

The governments of Chile, Uruguay and Brazil by contrast, while usually referred to as center-left or left-leaning, have adopted policies that are generally business-friendly and have pursued good relations with the Bush administration. Copper-rich Chile is considered a model country in the region because of its relative affluence and relatively low levels of corruption.

Franco said relations with Venezuela will be similar to those Paraguay maintains with any other country in the region and that, under no circumstances, will Lugo's administration allow other nations to interfere in its domestic affairs.

"In this globalized world, Paraguay has to have commercial links with all the countries and Venezuela will be no exception. In that sense, for example, if we can lower the cost of importing oil with Venezuelan crude, that will be very welcome," Franco said.

He added that Lugo - who is known as the "bishop of the poor" and pledged during the campaign to tackle endemic poverty, corruption and injustice in this landlocked country with a large indigenous population - has no plans to implement populist policies, adding that "the people, the Paraguayans, should be calm because here there'll be no space for populism."

He added that the PLRA always has shown respect for press freedom, the free market, human rights, political freedom, the constitution and private property. And in those areas we'll never cave in," he said.

"Besides, Paraguay is not prepared and will not accept the arrival of an extreme leftist" government, Franco said.

Lugo's victory was historically significant because it brought an end to 61-years of one-party rule by the Colorado Party and many analysts saw it as part of further swing to the left in Latin America.

But because the Patriotic Alliance for Change failed to garner a majority in Congress in the general election, Franco has had to engage in talks with the different parties to guarantee governability during Lugo's term in office.

In that context, Franco said "the outlook is very encouraging because we've seen in the first political contacts with the different parties the desire to work for the good of Paraguay."

The future VP said that he has held talks with former Gen. Lino Oviedo's UNACE party; businessman Pedro Fadul's Dear Fatherland Party; and with the Colorado Vanguard, a faction of the previously dominant Colorado Party. EFE

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