PARAGUAY: OPEN FOR BUSINESS

More than a month after the “Bishop of the People” Fernando Lugo took office as President of the Republic of Paraguay, he has promised in an interview with veteran Miami Herald reporter Andres Oppenheimer to follow a moderate line. The full text of the article is here.

The new President has named respected U.S.-educated economist Dionisio Borda as minister of finance and has vowed to pursue economic stability… yet at the same time has rushed to sign 13 cooperation agreements with Venezuela, and often comes across as flirting with the Chávez government. Well, I certainly wouldn’t blame him for that while the Chavez government is throwing money around… Paraguay needs all the investment it can get.

In other positive news, Lugo has signed an accord with Colombian police to help them combat the threat of kidnappings in Paraguay, and has moved to restrict land use for soybean production, in a move intended to protect soil fertility and combat poverty.