The National Republican Association (, ANR), also known as the Colorado Party (), is a conservative political party in Paraguay, founded on 11 September 1887 by Bernardino Caballero. Since 1947, the colorados, as they are known, have been dominant in Paraguayan politics (ruling as the only legal party between 1947 and 1962) and have 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, it was one of the two traditionally dominant parties in the country, along with the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA).
The Colorado Party has historically been and continues to be the dominant political party in Paraguay. 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. Paraguay was for several decades under dictatorial rule by Alfredo Stroessner, a member of the Colorado Party, until he was ousted from power in 1989, which set off a democratization process. Since then, there has been an expansion of civil and political liberties, as well as elections at presidential, congressional, and municipal levels. In 1962, all national parties were nominally legalized; the Communist Party being deemed "international" remained illegal and its adherents repressed by the Paraguayan state. In practice, however, Paraguay remained a one-party military dictatorship, with the Colorado Party serving as one of the "twin pillars" of Alfredo Stroessner's rule, who had assumed the presidency following a coup in 1954 and lasted until 1989, one of the longest in history by a non-royal leader. During Stroessner's rule, 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's rule 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, which ousted Stroessner from power.
Since 1989
In 2002, the National Union of Ethical Citizens split from the party.
During the 2003 Paraguayan general election, at the legislative elections 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 date, Nicanor Duarte, was elected with 37.1% of the popular vote.
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 inauguration 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 have to show you are 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".
The party has notably promoted Paraguay's close relationship with Taiwan, promising to retain Paraguay's status as the only Latin American country to recognize the Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China.
Electoral history
Presidential elections
Note: From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party was the sole legal party. Free and fair elections did not take place until 1993.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Election
!Party candidate
!Votes
!%
!Result
|-
|1928
|Eduardo Fleitas
|23,687
|31.66%
|Lost
|-
|1948
| Juan Natalicio González
|56,085
|100%
|Elected (sole legal party)
|-
|1949
| Felipe Molas López
|
|100%
|Elected (sole legal party)
|-
|1950
|rowspan=2 | Federico Chávez
|
|100%
|Elected (sole legal party)
|-
|1953
|224,788
|100%
|Elected (sole legal party)
|-
|1954
| rowspan="8" |Alfredo Stroessner
|236,191
|100%
|Elected (sole legal party)
|-
|1958
|295,414
|100%
|Elected (sole legal party)
|-
|1963
|569,551
|92.26%
|Elected
|-
|1968
|465,535
|71.62%
|Elected
|-
|1973
|681,306
|84.74%
|Elected
|-
|1978
|905,461
|90.77%
|Elected
|-
|1983
|944,637
|91.03%
|Elected
|-
|1988
|1,187,738
|89.60%
|Elected
|-
|1989
|Andrés Rodríguez
|882,957
|76.59%
|Elected
|-
|1993
|Juan Carlos Wasmosy
|449,505
|41.78%
|Elected
|-
|1998
|Raúl Cubas Grau
|887,196
|55.35%
|Elected
|-
|2003
|Nicanor Duarte
|574,232
|38.30%
|Elected
|-
|2008
|Blanca Ovelar
|573,995
|31.75%
|Lost
|-
|2013
|Horacio Cartes
|1,104,169
|48.48%
|Elected
|-
|2018
|Mario Abdo Benítez
|1,206,067
|48.96%
|Elected
|-
|2023
|Santiago Peña
|1,292,079
|43.94%
|Elected
|}
Vice presidential election
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Election
!Party candidate
!Votes
!%
!Result
|-
|2000
|Félix Argaña
|587,498
|48.8%
|Lost
|}
Chamber of Deputies elections
Note: From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party was the sole legal party. Free and fair elections did not take place until 1993.
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Election
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!+/–
|-
|1949
|
|100.0%
|
|
|-
|1953
|224,788
|100.0%
|
| 4
|-
|1958
|295,414
|100.0%
|
| 7
|-
|1960
|
|100.0%
|
|
|-
|1963
|569,551
|92.3%
|
| 20
|-
|1968
|465,535
|71.6%
|
|
|-
|1973
|681,306
|84.7%
|
|
|-
|1978
|905,461
|90.7%
|
|
|-
|1983
|944,637
|91.0%
|
|
|-
|1988
|1,187,738
|89.6%
|
|
|-
|1989
|845,820
|74.5%
|
|
|-
|1993
|488,342
|43.4%
|
| 2
|-
|1998
|857,473
|53.8%
|
| 7
|-
|2003
|520,761
|35.3%
|
| 8
|-
|2008
|582,932
|32.96%
|
| 7
|-
|2013
|919,625
|40.99%
|
| 14
|-
|2018
|927,183
|39.10%
|
| 2
|-
|2023
|1,345,730
|47.43%
|
| 6
|}
Senate elections
Note: free and fair elections did not take place until 1993.
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Election
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!+/–
|-
|1968
|465,535
|71.6%
|
| 20
|-
|1973
|681,306
|84.7%
|
|
|-
|1978
|905,461
|90.8%
|
|
|-
|1983
|944,637
|91.0%
|
|
|-
|1988
|1,187,738
|89.6%
|
|
|-
|1993
|498,586
|44.0%
|
|
|-
|1998
|813,287
|51.7%
|
| 4
|-
|2003
|508,506
|34.4%
|
| 8
|-
|2008
|509,907
|29.07%
|
| 1
|-
|2013
|865,206
|38.50%
|
| 4
|-
|2018
|766,841
|32.52%
|
| 2
|-
|2023
|1,317,463
|45.72%
|
| 6
|}
See also
- Colorado Party militias
References
External links
- ANR – Partido Colorado