THE iron grip of the world's longest-ruling political party was prized loose yesterday after a sandal-wearing former bishop assumed the presidency in Paraguay.
Sporting a new pair of sandals and with most of his trademark beard shaved, Fernando Lugo, 57, has become Paraguay's president, taking on the superhuman task of governing a nation that is renowned for corruption.
His appointment heralds a drift to
the left in Paraguay, ending 61 years of unbroken rule by the Colorado Party.
The former Catholic priest, who received an unprecedented dispensation to retire from the Church, which the Vatican said was for the good of Paraguay, said: "Today Paraguay breaks with its reputation for corruption; breaks with the few feudal lords of the past."
Mr Lugo faces a formidable task. He has no majority in congress, ensuring he will have to fight to get any changes approved.
Among the pressing issues he faces is a desperate need for land reform, with 77 per cent of the best land owned by less than one per cent of the population and armed land invasions common.
Aides say he will have to deal with several immediate crises as the outgoing government left the cupboard bare.
One of his first moves was to renounce his presidential salary, as he keeps to the austere lifestyle that characterised his tenure as a radical and defiant priest who espoused the doctrine of liberation theology.
"I will not need this money that belongs to the most humble," he said after he greeted Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan, one of the nine presidents who attended his inauguration.
The full article contains 274 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
