The political crisis in Paraguay - protests in Paraguay caused by an attempt by President Horacio Cartes to amend the country's constitution to allow him to run for a second term.
Content
- 1 Background
- 2 Street protests
- 3 Capture of the Senate building
- 4 Decision of the lower house
- 5 notes
Background
After the 35-year reign of Alfredo Stroessner , a Paraguayan general and politician who served as President of Paraguay from 1954 to 1989 and was re-elected to this post seven times, the country's constitution was amended in 1992 to prohibit him from holding a presidency for more than one term [1] .
In March 2017, a law was introduced in the Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Paraguay, allowing the incumbent President Horacio Cartes to run for a second time. At the meeting, which was held in a closed room, and not in a sessional hall where there were no representatives of the opposition and the chairman, the majority of deputies (25 out of 45) supported this bill [2] :
| Nothing has been done outside the scope of the Constitution. At the meeting, which was attended by 25 senators, everything was done within the framework of the law, in compliance with the procedures. Carlos Filitsola, Senator [3] |
Street Protests
The corresponding decision of the upper house of parliament provoked street protests that swept Asuncion, the country's capital. Protesters, among whom there were many well-known local politicians, clashed with the local police - set fire to car tires, stoned police with stones. Police responded with tear gas , water cannons, and rubber bullets to the protesters. According to local media reports, many protesters received injuries, injured police said the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country.
Senate Capture
Around the Senate building, protesters built barricades , and later took the building by storm. Having seized the parliament, the protesters searched and set fire to the offices of the deputies who voted for the corresponding amendments to the constitution.
Lower House Decision
The speaker of the lower house of the parliament of Paraguay said that the meeting on Saturday, April 1, where the issue of supporting the bill was to be decided, will not take place.
Notes
- ↑ Parliament paraded through Paraguay through the president . bbc.com (April 1, 2017). Date of treatment April 1, 2017.
- ↑ Paraguay demonstrators were buried buddha parliament . dw.com (April 1, 2017). Date of treatment April 1, 2017.
- ↑ Paraguay: the opposition set fire to parliament . Euronews (April 1, 2017). Date of treatment April 1, 2017.