Paraguay
Alto Paraná will have 14 female mayoral candidates and several cases of family continuity
In the 2026 municipal elections, 14 of the 45 mayoral candidates in Alto Paraná are women. According to La Nación Paraguay, in four districts the candidates are the wives of the current municipal leaders.
The department of Alto Paraná will reach the municipal elections on October 4, 2026, with 45 mayoral candidacies, of which 14 are women, or 31.1% of the total, according to a survey published by La Nación Paraguay.
According to that outlet, the Authentic Radical Liberal Party concentrates the largest number of female candidates, with seven names. Behind it are the Colorado Party and the Yo Creo Movement, with three candidates each, in addition to Marta Verónica Rojas, registered by the Todos por Ñacunday Alliance.
The coverage also points to four cases in which the mayoral candidates are wives of the current mayors. In Presidente Franco, Representative Roya Torres, of the PLRA, will compete with Arnold Ramírez, of the Colorado camp, and Mabel Otazú, of Yo Creo. Torres is the wife of the current municipal chief Roque Godoy, who has held the office for two terms.
In Los Cedrales, Dina Chávez will be a candidate on List 1, in a district where, according to La Nación Paraguay, the Municipal Board has 10 of 12 councilors from the ANR. The current mayor is her husband, Andrés Marecos.
In Domingo Martínez de Irala, Liberal Adriana del Carmen Nervi Alderete will seek to succeed her husband, Derlis Benegas, after two terms in office. La Nación Paraguay added that Benegas joined the ANR in 2021, despite this being a district in which all elected mayors have been from the PLRA.
The fourth case mentioned by that outlet is in Doctor Raúl Peña, where the Liberal candidate Marcia Petri is the wife of Mayor Raúl Cano and is coming off a second term on the municipal council.
The report also mentions other candidacies shaped by family ties. José Castillo, of the PLRA, is running in Hernandarias and is the son of former mayor Mario Castillo. In San Cristóbal, Liberal Rodrigo Santander, a current councilor, is the son of former municipal chief Ildefonso Santander. In Yguazú, Colorado candidate Rafael Kawano is the brother of Mayor Mauro Kawano, who is completing his second term.
Among the female candidates, La Nación Paraguay listed Nanci Algarín, who is seeking reelection in Mbaracayú, and Fátima Doerner, also seeking reelection in Santa Fe del Paraná, both for the ANR. For Yo Creo, the candidates are Romina Ramírez Benegas in Los Cedrales, Mónica Ramírez in Minga Guazú and Mabel Otazú in Presidente Franco. For the PLRA, the candidates are Laura Folle in Ciudad del Este, Roya Torres in Presidente Franco, Marcia Petri in Doctor Raúl Peña, Adriana del Carmen Nervi in Domingo Martínez de Irala, Elva Villalba Benítez in Naranjal, Marta Verónica Rojas in Ñacunday and Mariela Frutos in Santa Fe del Paraná.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
