Paraguay: Populist candidate fires up protesters after vote

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay — Hundreds of people protested in Paraguay’s capital for the second straight day Tuesday alleging that this weekend’s presidential elections were marred by fraud, a claim that President-elect Santiago Peña, electoral authorities and international observers dismissed. “We’re here requesting an audit of all the records,” said Francisco Soteras, who was a candidate for the lower house of Congress under Cubas’ party and joined the protesters Tuesday evening. “This is what the people feel today: discontent, rejection and a bitter feeling that their will was suppressed and the true president of the republic was robbed from them,” said Cristian Delgado, another legislative candidate for Cubas’ party who joined the demonstrations Tuesday. The Organization of American States, which deployed an electoral observation mission for the vote, said Tuesday that “there is no reason to doubt the results” of the election.” Cubas supporters clashed with police on Monday night outside Paraguay’s electoral court in the capital of Asunción. That growth in Cubas’ influence comes at a time when there is a “regional trend of an anti-establishment populist discourse against traditional politics and institutions,” Lima said.