On March 31st, 2017, protesters set fire to the Paraguayan Congress, dismantling fences, clashing with riot police, and storming the legislative chambers, venting anger at what they saw as an attack on Paraguay’s democratic safeguards after the Senate voted in a closed-door “special session” to amend its constitution, allowing President Horacio Cartes to run for re-election. Since the nation’s revolution from Alfredo Stroessner’s 35 year reign as dictator in 1989 and its subsequent 1992 constitution, presidents were only allowed to serve for one 5-year term. And although the Colorado Party, the dominant party in Paraguay, only lost one election from 1989 to 2017, the party’s two major factions were often divided, which allowed for some form of political turnover. But the stability of democracy in Paraguay had grown increasingly uncertain in the years leading up to the 2017 events, especially when the only non Colorado candidate ever to be elected to the presidency, Fernando Lugo, was impeached in 2012. He had become so unlikeable, with 76 of the 80 deputies voting for his impeachment, that it united the Colorado Party.

One of the most unique aspects of Paraguay’s political landscape is that it is a multi-party system where complete partisan loyalty is not always guaranteed, and bipartisan support is often a key component of victory, which adds strength but also volatility to the democratic process. When Cartes—a wealthy businessman who entered politics in 2009—won the presidency in 2013, he rallied nearly exclusive support from Colorado loyalists, eager to rebrand the party after their first loss of power in over six decades. However, this rebranding, and Cartes’ influence within the party, would have lasting implications for the Colorado Party’s relationship with the public.

When the 1992 constitution was drafted, it intentionally limited presidential power by allowing only one term per president, as well as many other checks and balances on the president to prevent the consolidation of executive power. The framers were deliberate in making these restrictions because of Paraguay’s history of the Colorado Party’s dominance, especially since a major faction of the party had backed Strossner’s leadership before its fall. Numerous other South American countries, who made the transition to democracy during the same timeperiod, including Peru and Chile, prevent presidents among other restrictions on their respective executive branches for the same reason. Cartes’ bid to change this fundamental aspect of Paraguay’s governance was met with strong resistance, especially among opposition leaders and progressive party members, who saw the move as a dangerous precedent that could erode the nation’s fragile democracy.

Since the 2017 protests, the Colorado Party’s image has further suffered due to corruption scandals and allegations linking Cartes himself to organized crime, including a plane carrying illegal drugs landing on his property in 2000. In 2022, the U.S. blacklisted Cartes and his Vice President Hugo Velázquez due to their involvement in “significant corruption”, and voters have also been deterred by rising prices and inflation. And although the party has historically relied on their candidates securing support from opposition party voters as well, these scandals, as well as rising inflation and economic strain, has led voters to grow increasingly disillusioned with a party that once prided itself on stability. Corruption has emerged as one of the central issues in recent electoral cycles, exacerbated by growing fears of organized crime’s influence in Paraguay’s government, and further developments in 2023, when the US once again placed sanctions on the country for Cartes’ involvement in bribing legislators after being elected as the party’s leader in 2022 and handpicking the party’s 2023 candidate, Santiago Peña.

Efraín Alegre of the Authentic Liberal Radical Party (PLRA) posed a significant threat to Peña, and the election was one of the closest races in decades. Alegre’s platform of rooting out corruption, improving public services, and challenging entrenched power structures resonated with citizens frustrated by stagnant wages, lack of social services, and an informal economy that has trapped over half the population. His coalition, spanning almost all of the minority and third parties, made a strong effort to dismantle the stronghold the Colorado Party has maintained for decades, and poses a legitimate threat to Cartes’ now one-dimensional Colorado Party.

While the Colorado Party has managed to hold onto power, the events that began in 2017 with Cartes’ push for re-election may have deeply impacted the party’s standing. Cartes’ continued influence over the Colorado Party risks pushing away moderates, eroding its traditional base, and paving the way for future opposition victories. The 2017 protests, though unable to immediately unseat the party, symbolized a shift in public perception that could ultimately drive Paraguayans to join a movement of South American nations toward rejecting entrenched political elites in favor of representative leaders committed to democratic renewal and transparency.