Santiago Peña wins presidential elections in Paraguay
With Peña's victory, the Colorado Party maintains its historical dominance over the Paraguayan government.
Santiago Peña, former Minister of Finance, will be the next President of Paraguay after winning Sunday's elections. The Colorado Party remains in power in a country where it has been governing almost consistently for the last 76 years.
Peña won 42.74% of the votes, while his main contender from the opposition Efraín Alegre, obtained 27.49%. With 99% of the votes counted, former legislator Paraguayo Cubas finished in third place with 22.92% of the votes.
The current president and member of the same party, Mario Abdo Benítez, was the first to congratulate Peña. He was joined by leaders from the region, such as Brazilian President Lula and Alberto Fernandez, president of Argentina.