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Twelve civilians have died in repression of social protests in the first year of this president’s term

[Translation of an article from Brasil de Fato of São Paulo for July 3. See original here and related articles here, here, here and here.]

by Marcio Zonta

Ollanta Humala Tasso finishes his first year in office in the midst of contradictions. In the first week of June alone, the Gana Perú congressional caucus, the base of the Partido Nacionalista Peruano, suffered four losses, for a total of five resignations of congress members who do not approve of the directions taken by the current administration.

Absorbed in the controversial issues of mining and the army’s confrontations in the Peruvian jungles with supposed drug traffickers and members of Sendero Luminoso, Humala has shown little aptitude or receptiveness to dialogue. On the other hand, he shows an extreme readiness for military solutions. (more…)

[Translation of an article from TeleSUR for April 26 concerning the state of emergency the senate recently delared, at the president’s request, for part of the country. The object of the measure is to permit military action against the EPP, the Ejército del Pueblo Paraguayo, Paraguayan People’s Army, a guerrilla group active in the region. In the meantime, Vice President Federico Franco, a political enemy of the president, has accused Lugo of deception, claiming the operation has a hidden purpose. See also "Paraguayan senate declares state of emergency" below.]

The president of Paraguay, Fernando Lugo, promised on Monday that public forces will not commit any type of abuse during the 30-day state of emergency the senate has declared for five departments in the north of the country.

The president called on the citizenry to avoid comparing the measure to political actions of the past, like the states of siege imposed by the dictatorship, which sought only to sow fear.

“I want to make it clear, very clear, that no constitutional guarantee is suspended with this measure. People’s lives should go on in a normal way in the region in question while the state works on security operations… This is an emergency measure undertaken by a democratic government that is respectful of its citizens,” the leader declared. (more…)

[Translation of an article from TeleSUR for April 22.]

At the request of President Fernando Lugo, the Paraguayan senate on Thursday approved declaration of a state of emergency in five departments in the north of the country after armed attacks, presumably carried out by the so-called Ejército del Pueblo Paraguayo (EPP – Paraguayan People’s Army), which left four dead, including one police officer and three civilians.

By a vote of 31 out of 45 seats, the upper chamber passed a bill which includes changes to the proposal Fernando Lugo had offered to the legislators in the morning.

The government measure includes the departments of Concepción, San Pedro, Presidente Hayes, Alto Paraguay and Amambay… (more…)