Key Points
Paraguay's ruling candidate Santiago Pena scored a big win in the country's presidential election on Sunday (local time), tightening the conservative Colorado Party's political grip in the country and defusing fears about the end of diplomatic ties with Taiwan...
Forty-four-year-old Pena, who has pledged to maintain Paraguay's long-standing Taiwan relations, had 42.7% of the vote with over 99% of ballots counted, a more than 15-point lead over center-left rival Efrain Alegre, who has argued for switching allegience to China...
"Thank you for this Colorado victory, thank you for this Paraguayan victory," Pena said in a speech..
The election result leaves Pena facing a challenge to rev up Paraguay's farm-driven economy, shrink a major fiscal deficit and navigate rising pressures from soy and beef producers to ditch Taiwan in favor of China and its huge markets...
It also underscores the dominance of the Colorado Party, which has ruled for all by five of the last 75 years and has a fierce campaign machine, despite rising discontent from some voters over the slowing economy and corruption allegations...
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