Парагвайдың «Колорадо» партиясы тарихы

Political party in Paraguay
the Uruguayan party of the same name

The National Republican Association – Colorado Party (Spanish: Asociación Nacional Republicana – Partido Colorado, ANR PC, lit. 'Red Party') is a conservative political party in Paraguay, founded on 11 September 1887 by Bernardino Caballero. Since 1947, the colorados, as they are known, has been dominant in Paraguayan politics (ruling as the only legal party between 1947 and 1962) and has controlled the presidency since 1948 –notwithstanding a brief interruption between 2008 and 2013– as well as having a majority in both chambers of Congress and department governorships. With 2.6 million members as of 2022 (although there are allegations of numerous false affiliations made by the party), it is the largest political party in the country, usually ruling without the necessity of electoral alliances.

The party, though founded only in 1887 as an answer to the foundation of the Liberal Party in that same year, already informally existed from the late 1870s onward, as a political group centered around Bernardino Caballero, Cándido Bareiro and José Segundo Decoud. It formally ruled the country from its foundation until 1904, when it was overthrown in the Revolution of 1904. It rejoined the government only in 1946, together with the Febreristas, during Higinio Moríñigo's rule as President of Paraguay. The Colorado Party became the dominant political force in the country following the conclusion of the 1947 civil war. During this time, the party operated multiple paramilitary wings. From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party ruled Paraguay as a one party state; all other political parties were illegal. In 1962, all national parties were nominally legalized; the Communist Party being deemed "international" remained illegal and its adherents repressed by the Paraguayan state. During the rule of Alfredo Stroessner all members of the armed forces and government employees were required to be members of the Colorado Party. Dissident groups within the party were purged, and two (Movimiento Popular Colorado and Asociación Nacional Republicana en el Exilio y la Resistencia) acted as opposition groups in exile until the 1980s. In 1987, there was a rift in the party between a hardliner faction supportive of Stroessner and a traditionalist faction. This rift was primarily over the issue of Stroessner's succession and was a large contributor to the 1989 coup d'état led by General Andrés Rodríguez, himself a traditionalist. In practice, however, Paraguay remained a one party military dictatorship until Stroessner's overthrow in 1989. It served as one of the "twin pillars" of Stroessner's 35 year rule, one of the longest in history by a non royal leader.

In 2002, the National Union of Ethical Citizens split from the party. At the legislative elections of 27 April 2003, the party won 35.3% of the popular vote (37 out of 80 seats) in the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay and 32.9% (16 out of 45 seats) in the Senate. Its candidate at the presidential elections on the same day, Nicanor Duarte, won 37.1% of the popular vote and was elected President of Paraguay. Originally, the Colorado Party was conservative, representing those opposed to the Liberal Party. On 20 April 2008, for the first time in 61 years, the Colorado Party lost the presidential elections to an opposition candidate from the centre left, Fernando Lugo, a Roman Catholic bishop, a first on both accounts (free election of an opposition candidate and of a bishop to the office of president in Paraguay). The Colorado Party was represented in these elections by Blanca Ovelar, the first woman to run for the presidency. Fernando Lugo, who had renounced the cloth before the elections so that he could become eligible under Paraguayan law, was formally released from his vows by the Vatican before his installation as president on 15 August 2008. According to Antonio Soljancic, a social scientist at the Autonomous University of Asunción, "in order to get a job, you had to show you were a party member. The problem Paraguay has is that, although Stroessner disappeared from the political map, he left a legacy that no one has tried to bury".

Note: From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party was the sole legal party. Free and fair elections did not take place until 1993. Election Party candidateVotes%Result1953Federico Chávez224,788100%Elected (sole legal party) 1954Alfredo Stroessner236,191100%Elected (sole legal party) 1958295,414100%Elected (sole legal party) 1963569,55192.3%Elected 1968465,53571.6%Elected 1973681,30684.7%Elected 1978905,46190.8%Elected 1983944,63791.0%Elected 19881,187,73889.6%Elected 1989Andrés Rodríguez882,95776.59%Elected 1993Juan Carlos Wasmosy449,50541.78%Elected 1998Raúl Cubas Grau887,19655.35%Elected 2003Nicanor Duarte574,23238.30%Elected 2008Blanca Ovelar573,99531.75%Lost 2013Horacio Cartes1,104,16948.48%Elected 2018Mario Abdo Benítez1,206,06748.96%Elected 2023Santiago Peña1,292,07943.94%Elected

ElectionParty candidateVotes%Result2000Félix Argaña587,49848.8%Lost

Note: From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party was the sole legal party. Free and fair elections did not take place until 1993. Election Votes%Seats+/–1960 601963569,55192.3% 201968465,53571.6%1973681,30684.7%1978905,46190.7%1983944,63791.0%19881,187,73889.6%1989845,82074.5%1993488,34243.4% 21998857,47353.8% 72003520,76135.3% 82008582,93232.96% 72013919,62540.99% 142018927,18339.10% 220231,345,73047.43% 6

Note: free and fair elections did not take place until 1993. Election Votes%Seats+/–1968 201973681,30684.7%1978198319881993498,58644.0%1998813,28751.7% 42003508,50634.4% 82008509,90729.07% 12013865,20638.50% 42018766,84132.52% 220231,317,46345.72% 6