Editing Paraguay (section)

===Election of Fernando Lugo===
For the 2008 general elections, the Colorado Party was favored in polls. Their candidate was Minister of Education [[Blanca Ovelar]], the first woman to be nominated as a candidate for a major party in Paraguayan history. After sixty years of Colorado rule, voters chose [[Fernando Lugo]], a former Roman Catholic Bishop and not a professional politician in civil government, and a member of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party, Paraguay's largest opposition party. Lugo was an adherent of [[liberation theology]]. Lugo achieved a historic victory in Paraguay's presidential election, defeating the ruling party candidate, and ending 61 years of conservative rule. Lugo won with nearly 41% of the vote, compared to almost 31% for Blanca Ovelar of the Colorado party.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2008.10.001|author=Nickson, Andrew|year=2009|title=The general election in Paraguay, April 2008|journal=Journal of Electoral Studies|volume=28|issue=1|pages=145–9}}</ref> Outgoing President [[Nicanor Duarte|Nicanor Duarte Frutos]] hailed the moment as the first time in the history of the nation that a government had transferred power to opposition forces in a constitutional and peaceful fashion.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Lugo was sworn in on 15 August 2008. The Lugo administration set its two major priorities as the reduction of corruption and economic inequality.<ref name="state.gov">{{cite web |title=Paraguay |website=State.gov |date=15 March 2012 |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1841.htm#econ |url-status=live |access-date=5 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122194534/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1841.htm#econ |archive-date=22 January 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Saludo de Piñera a Cartes (cropped).jpg|thumb|Inauguration of former President [[Horacio Cartes]], 15 August 2013]] 
Political instability following Lugo's election and disputes within his cabinet encouraged some renewal of popular support for the Colorado Party. Reports suggested that the businessman [[Horacio Cartes]] became the new political figure amid disputes. Despite the US [[Drug Enforcement Administration]]'s strong accusations against Cartes related to [[Illegal drug trade|drug trafficking]], he continued to amass followers in the political arena.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

On 14 January 2011, the Colorado Party convention nominated Horacio Cartes as the presidential candidate for the party. However, the party's constitution did not allow it.{{clarify|date=April 2012}}
On 21 June 2012, [[Impeachment of Fernando Lugo|impeachment proceedings against President Lugo]] began in the country's lower house, which was controlled by his opponents. Lugo was given less than twenty-four hours to prepare for the proceedings and only two hours in which to mount a defense.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news |title=What will Washington do about Fernando Lugo's ouster in Paraguay? |first=Mark |last=Weisbrot |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/22/washington-fernando-lugo-ouster-paraguay |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=22 June 2012|access-date=23 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910143002/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/22/washington-fernando-lugo-ouster-paraguay |archive-date=10 September 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Impeachment was quickly approved and the resulting trial in Paraguay's Senate, also controlled by the opposition, ended with the removal of Lugo from office and Vice President Federico Franco assuming the duties of president.<ref name=CNN22>{{cite news |title=Paraguayan Senate removes president |first=Mariano |last=Castillo |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/22/world/americas/paraguay-president/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=22 June 2012 |access-date=22 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623040625/http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/22/world/americas/paraguay-president/index.html |archive-date=23 June 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Lugo's rivals blamed him for the deaths of 17&nbsp;people – eight police officers and nine farmers – in armed clashes after police were ambushed by armed peasants when enforcing an eviction order against rural trespassers.<ref>{{cite news |title=Paraguay's president vows to face impeachment effort |first=Daniela |last=Desantis |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-paraguay-lugo-idUSBRE85K13N20120621 |work=[[Reuters]] |edition=US |date=21 June 2012 |access-date=21 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208094438/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/21/us-paraguay-lugo-idUSBRE85K13N20120621 |archive-date=8 February 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 14 May 2011, Paraguay celebrated its [[Paraguay Bicentennial|bicentenary]] on the 200th anniversary of independence from the Spanish Empire as a sovereign state.

Lugo's supporters gathered outside Congress to protest the decision as a "politically motivated coup d'état".<ref name=CNN22/> Lugo's removal from office on 22&nbsp;June 2012 is considered by [[UNASUR]] and other neighboring countries, especially those currently governed by leftist leaders, as a coup d'état.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unasursg.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=698%3Acomunicado-asuncion-22-de-junio-de-2012&catid=68%3Acomunicados&Itemid=346 |title=COMUNICADO UNASUR Asunción, 22 de Junio de 2012 |language=es |date=22 June 2012 |publisher=UNASUR |access-date=23 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627050748/http://www.unasursg.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=698:comunicado-asuncion-22-de-junio-de-2012&catid=68:comunicados&Itemid=346 |archive-date=27 June 2012}}</ref> However, the Organization of American States, which sent a mission to Paraguay to gather information, concluded that the impeachment process was not a coup d'état, as it had been carried out in accordance with the [[Constitution of Paraguay]].<ref>Halvorssen, Thor, ''[https://www.forbes.com/sites/thorhalvorssen/2012/07/03/paraguay-is-not-honduras/#57bce3c72308 Paraguay is not Honduras: President Lugo's Impeachment was not a Coup] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730203938/https://www.forbes.com/sites/thorhalvorssen/2012/07/03/paraguay-is-not-honduras/#57bce3c72308|date=30 July 2018}}'', Forbes.com, 3 July 2012, retrieved 30 July 2018</ref>