Paraguay's new president alleges plot

Paraguay's president has warned of a possible coup plot against his new government, saying that rival politicians summoned a key military figure to gauge support for their political ambitions, reports the Associated Press.

Two alleged participants responded that the meeting never happened. But President Fernando Lugo said all Paraguayans need to be alert for coup attempts by ''antidemocratic and retrograde'' elements.

''We will not allow attacks on the freedom of our people,'' Lugo told reporters summoned to his offices Monday. "Those who intend to pursue conspiratorial projects will be met with all the tools the constitution gives me.''

Lugo accused retired Gen. Lino Cesar Oviedo, a former political rival who placed third in April's presidential election, of holding the meeting in his home on Sunday.

Read more about Lugo's allegations here.

For more about the Paraguayan president and his country, click here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: President Lugo. Credit: BBC

In Paraguay, Fernando Lugo sworn in as president; Hugo Chavez basks in his glory

Former Roman Catholic Bishop Fernando Lugo, whose election broke a six-decade legacy of dictatorship and one-party rule, was sworn in Friday as president of this poor, landlocked nation in the heart of South America, Patrick J. McDonnell reports from Asuncion.

"Today a new Paraguay is born," Lugo told thousands of supporters and various heads of state assembled outside the congressional palace in the normally sleepy capital. "Today marks the end of an exclusive Paraguay, a secretive, notoriously corrupt Paraguay."

Sharing the stage with Lugo on Saturday, when he travelled to San Pedro, was a euphoric Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, clearly viewing the newly installed Paraguayan chief of state as his newest ally in the Caracas versus Washington political battle that has split Latin America.

"For the first time, I feel wanted in Paraguay," the animated Chavez declared, after repeating his habitual refrain that the United States, which he calls el imperio yanqui (the Yankee empire), was to blame for the region's chronic underdevelopment.

Read here about Lugo's signing in, and here about Chavez tagging along.

For more on Paraguay, click here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Profile: Paraguay President Fernando Lugo

Tyler Bridges profiles Paraguay's recently elected President Fernando Lugo, for the McClatchy News Service.

His election was far-fetched, writes Bridges.

No priest in living memory had been elected president of a Latin American country, much less one who hewed to the Liberation Theology practice of agitating on behalf of the oppressed.

Lugo's election is historic for another reason: He defeated the Colorado Party, which had governed Paraguay since 1947. No political party holding power had governed longer anywhere in the world.

Click here to read on about Paraguay's President Fernando Lugo.

For more on Paraguay, click here.

Paraguay's president submits early resignation

Paraguay's President Nicanor Duarte Frutos submitted his resignation nearly two months before his term ends to assume a post in the Senate, but the opposition has threatened to block the move, reads this report.

Duarte won a Senate seat in April's general election. However, opposition leaders say the constitution prohibits him from running while still in power.

Both houses of Congress will meet today to debate whether to accept the resignation, writes the BBC. If they do, Vice President Francisco Oviedo will take over.

President-elect Fernando Lugo will be sworn in Aug. 15, ending more than 60 years of rule by the Colorado Party. Read about his election in April here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Paraguay inmates riot for more sex

"Paraguayan prisoners rioted Friday to press a list of demands, including more sex. Inmates seized the Esperanza prison's director and other administrators, demanding nighttime conjugal visits and an end to mistreatment by guards," the Associated Press reports.

"Paraguayan prisons allow such visits during the day," the AP notes, "but that clashes with working hours at Esperanza, where inmates have jobs, such as at a prison clothing factory.

No deaths or injuries were reported.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City