Dressing up the removal of an elected president with impeachment is a subtle form of overturning the democratic choice of the people. That is what has just happened in Paraguay. I did not know about the coup in Paraguay until today when I was attending a conference on Venezuela's upcoming elections in London. President Lugo, the country's first left-wing leader and a former priest, was removed by the Senate in a so-called trial, following a violent confrontation over land rights that left 17 dead. Lugo's supporters have protested outside Parliament but Lugo has said he will step aside and not contest the next election in August 2013. He served less than 4 years of his five year term. Paraguay was ruled by a single authoritarian regime for more than five decades. The elite's dislike of Lugo's pro -poor policies have now led to his ouster. Latin American leaders have denounced the coup, which resembles a similar institutional coup against Honduras's elected president in 2010 by that country's conservative elite. There is a pattern here, that rightwing forces are trying to turn back the popular socialist tide in Latin America. Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina and others have said they will not recognise the new government, led by Lugo's estranged liberal deputy. Not surprisingly the US has failed to condemn the move.
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