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<\/a><\/p>\nBy Lucinda Elliott and Daniela Desantis<\/p>\n
ASUNCION (Reuters) – Paraguayans on Monday were mixed about the prospects of another five years of conservative Colorado party rule, but hoped President-elect Santiago Pena could reboot the country\u2019s farm-driven economy.<\/p>\n
Pena, a 44-year-old economist, secured a 15-point lead over his opposition rival with 42.7% of the vote, cementing another five-year term for the ruling Colorado Party. <\/p>\n
Voters also handed the Colorados a greater majority in both houses of Congress, with a bigger number of seats than in the previous 2018 election. Fifteen, or nearly all of the country\u2019s 17 governorship are held by the party. <\/p>\n
After a night of fireworks and celebrations outside the party\u2019s main headquarters in downtown Asuncion, Beatriz Candia was out cleaning the city\u2019s streets, on a more subdued Monday, given the May 1 Labor Day holiday. <\/p>\n
“For me personally, Santiago Pena is a person who could contribute a lot to the economy of our country (by) putting things in place in macroeconomic terms,\u201d Candia told Reuters.<\/p>\n
Resident Victor Barrios also felt Pena was the right choice: “I think Santiago Pena is the ideal president for now \u2026 five years on we\u2019ll see what he does and how we judge him,” he said.<\/p>\n
In his victory speech, Pena acknowledged the economic challenges the landlocked South American country faces.<\/p>\n
“We have a lot to do, after the last years of economic stagnation, of fiscal deficit, the task that awaits us is not for a single person or for a party,” Pena said on Sunday, calling for “unity and consensus.”<\/p>\n
When sworn as leader on Aug. 15, he will, however, face a country that is unconvinced of his leadership. Over half of voters opted for alternative parties and abstentions remained high. The President-elect will also face divisions within his own party over which direction the country should take.<\/p>\n
Cipriano Gomez, a 50-year-old teacher, said that he was unconvinced conditions would improve under the next government. <\/p>\n
“We are going to carry on in the same way,\u201d he said while sharing traditional Paraguayan tea with a friend, \u201cHopefully someday citizens … will really think about their suffrage, their vote for political projects\u2026.Hopefully one day we\u2019ll get there.”<\/p>\n
\n(Reporting by Miguel Lobianco, Lucinda Elliott and Daniela Desantis; Editing by Marguerita Choy)<\/p>\n
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