On 31 March 2017, a series of protests began in Paraguay, during which demonstrators set fire to the Congress building. The demonstrations occurred in response to a constitutional amendment that would permit President Horacio Cartes to run for re-election, a move described by the opposition as "a coup". One protester was killed in Paraguay's capital, Asunción, after being hit by a shotgun blast by police. Several protesters, politicians and journalists, as well as police, were reported injured, including one lower-house deputy who had to undergo surgery after being injured by rubber bullets. On 17 April, President Cartes announced that he was resigning from any possible candidacy for a second presidential term. On 26 April, the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay rejected the proposed constitutional amendment for presidential re-election.
Background
The 1992 Constitution limits the President of Paraguay to a single five-year term in office with no possibility of re-election, even if it is nonsuccessive. The proposed amendment would have allowed those previously elected as president to run again for re-election. A previous vote on the measure was rejected in August 2016. The norms of the Congress established that the subject could not be treated again until after a year. However, in the last week of March, the ruling legislators managed to amend the regulations and bring the initiative to the Senate for approval. The proposed constitutional amendment would have allowed presidents and vice presidents to run for a second term, whether successive or separated. This amendment would have allowed then-president Horacio Cartes and former president Fernando Lugo to run for a second five-year term. In either case, a president would have had to leave office for good at the end of the second term.
In order for the amendment to be ratified, it needed to pass in the lower house, on paper a likely outcome in a chamber where the Colorado Party controlled 44 of 80 seats. This would then be followed by a national referendum. Senate President Roberto Acevedo of the opposition Authentic Radical Liberal Party filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, arguing that the vote violated Senate rules.
The ban on any sort of re-election for the president dates to the aftermath of the military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, which extended between 1954 and 1989. The Stroessner administration, of the Colorado Party, was one of the longest and most repressive in Latin American history. His rule left more than 400 missing, more than 18,000 tortured and more than 20,000 exiles, according to data published in 2008 by the Paraguayan Truth and Justice Commission. However, following Stroessner's fall and exile, the Colorado Party continued to win elections and completed over six consecutive decades in power, until in 2008, center-left Fernando Lugo, of the Guasu Front, won the elections. Lugo was dismissed after an impeachment in 2012, and in 2013, the Colorado Party returned to the government with Cartes.
On 28 March, a discussion in the Congress ended with shouts in the corridors of the Legislative Palace of Asunción between left-wing senators and conservatives of the Colorado Party that were divided into two factions: government officials, who support the re-election of Cartes, and dissidents, who reject it. The Congress by then had been completely surrounded by policemen: truck-based water cannons and hundreds of anti-riot troops prevented the passage of the people. Hundreds of Paraguayans, including dissident deputies, senators and Paraguayan political leaders, demonstrated until the early hours of the morning of 29 March 2017 in downtown Asunción against the approval of the presidential re-election project.
A closed-session Senate vote on the amendment was scheduled for 31 March 2017. This also coincided with a meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in Asunción, which brought thousands of foreign business people and government officials to the Paraguayan capital. The measure by senators for the governing Colorado Party, which needed 23 members' support to pass in the 45-member assembly, passed with 25 votes.
Protests After the Senate vote, protests broke out in Asunción against the legislation. Desirée Masi, leader of the opposition Progressive Democratic Party stated, "A coup has been carried out. We will resist and we invite the people to resist with us." During the protests, the windows were broken and Congress was set on fire by protesters. Fencing surrounding the compound was also removed. Police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators.
Twenty-five-year-old Rodrigo Quintana, leader of Liberal Youth, the young wing of the main opposition Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA) in the district of La Colmena, Paraguarí Department, died after being seriously wounded with a shotgun blast on the torso by a police officer after police stormed the PLRA headquarters. The President of the Liberal Party Efraín Alegre confirmed the death. The moment of the police irruption to the party's headquarters was captured in a closed-circuit video.
As in Asunción, in the early hours of 1 April 2017, Ciudad del Este was the scene of police repression against anti-amendment protesters who congregated at the head of the Friendship Bridge. At least 12 people were detained. About 1:00 a.m., mounted police and special operations agents began the clearance of the border crossing, firing at protesters. The shootings lasted for about an hour, leaving many wounded with rubber bullets. The citizens rushed to the shopping centers, trying to take refuge from the shots, and some were taken from those places to be apprehended. Among the injured was a photographer of a local newspaper.
In the early hours of 1 April 2017, members of the mounted group of the National Police of Paraguay attacked the headquarters of the ABC Color newspaper with both rubber and live ammunition. The main door of the newspaper's headquarters was destroyed by a rubber bullet shot and the glass shards wounded two employees.
Reactions International Governments : With harangues in Guarani, Paraguayans living in Buenos Aires demonstrated in front of the Paraguayan embassy in Argentina on the afternoon of 1 April 2017. The main reason for the mobilization was indignation at the death of Quintana, and they requested the resignation of the President of Paraguay. The Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which he "regrets the acts of violence" and hopes that "President Cartes will allow for its full clarification and the determination of the corresponding responsibilities." : President Evo Morales denounced the inaction of the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, in the political crisis unleashed in Paraguay. "Paraguayan Congress convulses its people. Mr. Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the OAS, now, will there be Democratic Charter for Paraguay?" wrote Morales in his Twitter account. : The United States embassy condemned the acts of violence and the Congress of Paraguay's fire started by citizens, and called on the Government and all parties involved to work together in a transparent way to solve the problems that triggered the disturbances. : Paraguayans residing in Spain congregated at the Paraguayan Consulate in Barcelona, raising voices against the "outrage" in the Senate and the events that occurred on the night of 31 March. Several Paraguayan citizens staged a demonstration on 2 April 2017 in front of the Paraguayan Consulate in Madrid, Spain, against the amendment. They demanded justice for the death of Quintana. : On 2 April 2017, Pope Francis asked to avoid "all violence" and advocated seeking "political solutions" in Venezuela and Paraguay, whose political situations he alluded to after the Angelus prayer. : Two political parties of Uruguay, the Broad Front and the National Party, pronounced on the events occurred in the Congress of Paraguay expressing their concern for the Paraguayan political situation, expressed condolences for the death of Quintana and requested that political differences be resolved through dialogue. The Uruguayan Government expressed "great concern" at the violence in Paraguay during protests.
Supranational bodies Organization of American States: The General Secretary of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, called Paraguay's political forces to broker peace and urged the government to investigate the death of Quintana. The Secretary General criticized the actions of people who broke into Congress as the "bloody reaction of the police forces that resulted in the death of an activist and youth leader of the opposition." Inter-American Development Bank: The Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) kicked off formally in Paraguay with an agenda focused on economic integration and climate change, the same day the protest began. "I want to join the call for peace and dialogue," said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno at a press conference at the headquarters of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, where the meeting took place. The IDB promised to provide its support, solidarity and support to Paraguay. The president of the entity clarified that they will remain a vital partner of Paraguay as they did six decades ago and will continue to do so for much longer, "betting on the enormous potential of the country."
Domestic Former President of Paraguay Federico Franco blamed Cartes for the political crisis in the country. Franco, who took office in 2012 after the removal of Lugo following Lugo's impeachment and was himself succeeded by Cartes, said that the president "has to withdraw this amendment immediately" to lower the tension in the country and aspire to continue in his position. Franco also held Cartes responsible for the death of Quintana.
The Governor of the Presidente Hayes Department Antonio Saldívar condemned and lamented "the terrible act of the security organisms" that killed Quintana. He also urged the authorities to seek solutions in accordance with the law.
The Intendant of Asunción, Mario Ferreiro, requested that the constitutional amendment be withdrawn from the congress.
The Bishop of Caacupé, Monsignor Claudio Giménez, blamed the three powers of the Paraguayan state of political crisis, expressing his concern about the situation of the country as a result of the political crisis and regretted that "the lust for power and incoherence could overcome." In the Sunday mass in the Catholic church of the city of Acahay, the pastor Elamidio Sandoval questioned the last events registered in the country because of the "ambition" of re-electionists. Sandoval asked those responsible "to change course and stop generating robberies and deaths and to act with patriotism."
The Paraguayan Evangelical community issued a statement condemning the violent acts that took place. They also rejected conduct that violates the national Constitution.
Conversely, President Cartes released a statement on Twitter, in response to the protests: "Democracy is not conquered or defended with violence and you can be sure this government will continue to put its best effort into maintaining order in the republic. We must not allow a few barbarians to destroy the peace, tranquility and general wellbeing of the Paraguayan people." He accused the media and a "political group" of the excesses that occurred in the vicinities and within the Congress of Paraguay.