Can Santiago Peña, Paraguayan President-elect, effect meaningful change?
Andrew Nickson, Honourary Reader in Public Management and Latin American Studies at the University of Birmingham and expert in Paraguay's politics joins The LatinNews Podcast on Episode 4 to provide an overview of the recent elections and some of the serious dilemmas facing the Colorado Party's president-elect Santiago Peña.
On the home-front, can Peña combat the rampant corruption, drug-related violence, poor education levels and increase trust in government institutions - including accusations of fraud in the recent elections? And internationally, how will his government negotiate the terms of energy sales from the Itaipu dam with Brazil, continue to recognise Taiwan, snubbing China, and move the Paraguayan embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem without angering key trade partners in the Arab world?
The outlook for one of the most unequal countries in the Americas, in terms of income and wealth, isn't positive.
Show Notes:
• Overview of the elections in Paraguay
• The origins of President-elect Santiago Pena
• Horacio Cartes' influence in Paraguay
• The re-negotiation of the Itaipu dam
Andrew Nickson has four decades' experience of teaching, research and consultancy on public administration reform, local governance, decentralization and urban water supply. He has a particular interest in Sierra Leone, Nepal and Paraguay, countries where he has had long-term work assignments. He is currently lead trainer on ‘Decentralised Governance and Peacebuilding’ and ‘Acting Locally: Citizen Participation for Resilient Institutions’ for the Turin-based United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC), delivered both through distance learning and face-to-face courses. He writes regularly for the Economist Intelligence Unit, Oxford Analytica and HIS Markit.