National Republican Association – Colorado Party
Asociación Nacional Republicana – Partido Colorado
LeaderSantiago Peña
PresidentHoracio Cartes[1]
FounderBernardino Caballero
Founded11 September 1887 (1887-09-11)
Headquarters25 de Mayo N° 842 c/ Tacuary - Asunción, Paraguay
Membership (2022)2,616,424[2]
IdeologyConservatism[3]
Economic liberalism[4]
Social conservatism[5][6][7][8]
Political positionRight-wing[9]
Regional affiliationUnion of Latin American Parties[10]
International affiliationInternational Democracy Union[11]
Colours   Red, white
Chamber of Deputies
48 / 80
Senate
23 / 45
Governors
15 / 17
Party flag
Website
www.anr.org.py

The National Republican Association – Colorado Party (Spanish: Asociación Nacional Republicana – Partido Colorado, ANR-PC, lit. 'Red Party') is a conservative political party in Paraguay, founded on 11 September 1887 by Bernardino Caballero. Since 1947, the Colorado party has been dominant in Paraguayan politics, ruling as the only legal party between 1947 and 1962, and has controlled the presidency since 1948 notwithstanding a brief interruption between 2008 and 2013. With over 2 million members (although there are allegations of numerous false affiliations made by the party),[12] it is the largest political party in the country.

History

1887–1989

It initially ruled the country from 1887 until 1904. In 1946, it rejoined the government, together with the Febreristas, during Higinio Moríñigo's rule as President of Paraguay.

The Colorado Party became the dominant political force in the country following the conclusion of the 1947 civil war. During this time, the party operated multiple paramilitary wings. From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party ruled Paraguay as a one-party state; all other political parties were illegal.[13] In 1962, all national parties were nominally legalized; the Communist Party being deemed "international" remained illegal and its adherents repressed by the Paraguayan state. During the rule of Alfredo Stroessner all members of the armed forces and government employees were required to be members of the Colorado Party. Dissident groups within the party were purged, and two (Movimiento Popular Colorado and Asociación Nacional Republicana en el Exilio y la Resistencia) acted as opposition groups in exile until the 1980s. In 1987, there was a rift in the party between a hardliner faction supportive of Stroessner and a traditionalist faction.[14] This rift was primarily over the issue of Stroessner's succession and was a large contributor to the 1989 coup d'état led by General Andrés Rodríguez, himself a traditionalist.[15]

In practice, however, Paraguay remained a one-party military dictatorship until Stroessner's overthrow in 1989. It served as one of the "twin pillars" of Stroessner's 35-year rule, one of the longest in history by a non-royal leader.[16]

Since 1989

In 2002, the National Union of Ethical Citizens split from the party.

At the legislative elections of 27 April 2003, the party won 35.3% of the popular vote (37 out of 80 seats) in the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay and 32.9% (16 out of 45 seats) in the Senate. Its candidate at the presidential elections on the same day, Nicanor Duarte, won 37.1% of the popular vote and was elected President of Paraguay.

Originally, the Colorado Party was conservative, representing those opposed to the Liberal Party.

On 20 April 2008, for the first time in 61 years, the Colorado Party lost the presidential elections to an opposition candidate from the center-left, Fernando Lugo, a Roman Catholic bishop, a first on both accounts (free election of an opposition candidate and of a bishop to the office of president in Paraguay). The Colorado Party was represented in these elections by Blanca Ovelar, the first woman to run for the presidency. Fernando Lugo, who had renounced the cloth before the elections so that he could become eligible under Paraguayan law, was formally released from his vows by the Vatican before his installation as president on 15 August 2008.

According to Antonio Soljancic, a social scientist at the Autonomous University of Asunción, "in order to get a job, you had to show you were a party member. The problem Paraguay has is that, although Stroessner disappeared from the political map, he left a legacy that no one has tried to bury".[17]

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Note: From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party was the sole legal party. Free and fair elections did not take place until 1993.

Election Party candidate Votes % Result
1953 Federico Chávez 224,788 100% Elected (sole legal party) Green tick
1954 Alfredo Stroessner 236,191 100% Elected (sole legal party) Green tick
1958 295,414 100% Elected (sole legal party) Green tick
1963 569,551 92.3% Elected Green tick
1968 465,535 71.6% Elected Green tick
1973 681,306 84.7% Elected Green tick
1978 905,461 90.8% Elected Green tick
1983 944,637 91.0% Elected Green tick
1988 1,187,738 89.6% Elected Green tick
1989 Andrés Rodríguez 882,957 76.59% Elected Green tick
1993 Juan Carlos Wasmosy 449,505 41.78% Elected Green tick
1998 Raúl Cubas Grau 887,196 55.35% Elected Green tick
2003 Nicanor Duarte 574,232 38.30% Elected Green tick
2008 Blanca Ovelar 573,995 31.75% Lost Red X
2013 Horacio Cartes 1,104,169 48.48% Elected Green tick
2018 Mario Abdo Benítez 1,206,067 48.96% Elected Green tick
2023 Santiago Peña 1,292,079 43.94% Elected Green tick

Vice presidential election

Election Party candidate Votes % Result
2000 Félix Argaña 587,498 48.8% Lost Red X

Chamber of Deputies elections

Note: From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party was the sole legal party. Free and fair elections did not take place until 1993.

Election Votes % Seats +/–
1960
60 / 60
 Increase 60
1963 569,551 92.3%
40 / 60
 Decrease 20
1968 465,535 71.6%
40 / 60
 Steady
1973 681,306 84.7%
40 / 60
 Steady
1978 905,461 90.7%
40 / 60
 Steady
1983 944,637 91.0%
40 / 60
 Steady
1988 1,187,738 89.6%
40 / 60
 Steady
1989 845,820 74.5%
40 / 72
 Steady
1993 488,342 43.4%
38 / 80
 Decrease 2
1998 857,473 53.8%
45 / 80
 Increase 7
2003 520,761 35.3%
37 / 80
 Decrease 8
2008 582,932 32.96%
30 / 80
 Decrease 7
2013 919,625 40.99%
44 / 80
 Increase 14
2018 927,183 39.10%
42 / 80
 Decrease 2
2023 1,345,730 47.43%
48 / 80
 Increase 6

Senate elections

Note: free and fair elections did not take place until 1993.

Election Votes % Seats +/–
1968
20 / 30
 Increase 20
1973 681,306 84.7%
20 / 30
 Steady
1978
20 / 30
 Steady
1983
20 / 30
 Steady
1988
20 / 30
 Steady
1993 498,586 44.0%
20 / 45
 Steady
1998 813,287 51.7%
24 / 45
 Increase 4
2003 508,506 34.4%
16 / 45
 Decrease 8
2008 509,907 29.07%
15 / 45
 Decrease 1
2013 865,206 38.50%
19 / 45
 Increase 4
2018 766,841 32.52%
17 / 45
 Decrease 2
2023 1,317,463 45.72%
23 / 45
 Increase 6

References

  1. ↑ "Con 45,8% de participación colorada, Cartes ganó presidencia de ANR". La Nación (Paraguay) (in Spanish). 19 December 2022.
  2. ↑ https://www.anr.org.py/anr-vuelve-a-habilitar-su-padron-con-2-616-424-afiliados-que-pueden-votar/
  3. ↑ "Paraguay elige el continuismo del conservador Partido Colorado dando la presidencia a Santiago Peña". es.euronews.com. 1 May 2023.
  4. ↑ Jorge González-Gallarza (6 July 2023). "Paraguay Athwart Liberalism". europeanconservative.com. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Pueblo de Dios se inscribe en la ANR". www.abc.com.py (in Spanish). 2 October 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "Neoliberal Santiago Peña del Partido Colorado, heredero de la genocida dictadura de Stroessner, es el nuevo mandatario del Paraguay, bastión ultraderechista en Suramérica". www.cronicon.net (in Spanish). 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  7. ↑ |Sarah Patricia Cerna Villagra y Rodrigo Manuel Ibarrola (31 August 2020). "Paraguay: el arraigo político y económico de la derecha" (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  8. ↑ https://jacobinlat.com/2023/01/31/paraguay-hegemonia-colorada-y-elecciones-2023/
  9. ↑ "El derechista Partido Colorado afianza su monopolio político en Paraguay". www.publico.es. 1 May 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  10. ↑ "Partidos Miembros". Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "Members". February 2018.
  12. ↑ http://www.eleccionesparaguay.com/noticia-padron-electora-definitivo-elecciones-paraguay-2013-131.html https://elsurti.com/oligarquia/reportaje/2021/03/30/me-afiliaron-sin-mi-consentimiento/ https://www.ultimahora.com/tribunal-hace-lugar-un-habeas-data-contra-anr-afiliacion-ilegal-n3051257 https://www.abc.com.py/nacionales/2021/07/30/reestablecen-web-de-anr-sin-afiliados-fantasma-sepa-que-hacer-si-sigue-figurando/ https://www.paraguay.com/nacionales/investigaran-a-partidos-politicos-por-produccion-de-documentos-falsos-88785 https://www.abc.com.py/nacionales/2021/07/31/urgen-una-ley-de-proteccion-de-datos-tras-afiliaciones-falsas-a-la-anr/
  13. ↑ "Paraguay: Opposition Parties". Library of Congress Country Studies. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009.
  14. ↑ Smith, James F. (4 February 1989). "Military Coup Topples Paraguay's Stroessner : Incoming President Promises Democracy, Respect for Rights". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  15. ↑ Paraguay: Potential Successors to Stroessner
  16. ↑ "Paraguay: The Twin Pillars of the Stroessner Regime". Library of Congress Country Studies. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009.
  17. ↑ "Horacio Cartes: Millionaire. Criminal. Business titan. Homophobe. The next president of Paraguay?". The Independent. 19 April 2013.

See also

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