Wilson Center
A New Chapter for Paraguay: A Conversation with President Santiago Peña
Event Sponsor
Event Co-Sponsors
Wilson Center & ICCF Group
Overview
Santiago Peña, an economist and former finance minister from Paraguay’s conservative Colorado Party, won a decisive victory in April’s presidential election. In most of the region, incumbent parties have struggled in recent elections. But Peña’s Colorado Party not only retained control of the presidency, it also won majorities in both chambers of Congress, giving him an opportunity to implement an ambitious economic agenda.
As Paraguay emerges from a long drought, its robust agriculture sector will help drive economic growth. Still, Paraguay’s new leader faces challenges as he attempts to create 500,000 jobs, reduce poverty, and fight crime and corruption. Foreign policy will also be complex, as the president deepens Paraguay’s relationship with Taiwan amid pressure from Beijing and objections from local farmers eager for a new export market. Closer to home, Paraguay and its neighbors are discussing the future of the Mercosur trade bloc, while Paraguay and Brazil are expected to renegotiate the electricity rates of the Itaipú dam.
Introductions
Hosted By
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
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