Paraguay
Riera denies a rift between Peña and Cartes and places the tensions in the 2028 race
The interior minister said there is no break between the president and the ANR leader, although he acknowledged frictions tied to the ruling party’s internal struggle. He also linked those movements to the change at Health and to the electoral race opening toward 2026 and 2028.
Paraguay’s Interior Minister Enrique Riera rejected the idea that there is a rift between President Santiago Peña and the leader of the National Republican Association, Horacio Cartes, although he admitted there are tensions stemming from the power struggle within the ruling coalition, according to an interview cited by ABC Color.
According to that outlet, Riera said that Peña’s, Vice President Pedro Alliana’s and Cartes’ moves toward greater autonomy respond to the internal dynamics of the ANR and to the scenario that is already beginning to take shape ahead of the 2028 presidential election. In that context, he said those signals are often read as a fracture, but denied that it amounts to a break.
Still according to ABC Color, the minister said that within the Colorado Party no one disputes the need to preserve unity ahead of the general elections. He also said that the opposition and the Colorado dissidence were defeated on June 7 in the municipal primaries against Honor Colorado.
Riera also referred to the change at the Ministry of Health. He defended the outgoing minister, whom he described as honest and committed, but acknowledged that she faced persistent pressure that ultimately influenced the presidential decision. According to ABC Color, the official said that it was not easy for Peña to make that decision and linked the timing of the replacement to Cartes’ public complaints about the state of the health system.
In that same vein, the minister said that both Peña and Cartes manage their own political timing, but end up converging because a split between them would benefit the opposition, according to ABC Color.
Riera also linked the internal frictions to the political growth of the ruling-party governors. According to ABC Color, he attributed that strengthening to greater centralization of resources by the Executive Branch, with an impact on areas such as road machinery and the Hambre Cero program, which would have generated unease in sectors of Congress.
Finally, the minister said that the 2026 municipal elections will be a decisive step in the 2028 contest. According to ABC Color, he said that a new generation of leaders is already emerging within the ANR and noted that the space’s main leaders today remain Cartes, Peña and Alliana.
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Sobre esta nota. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do its own reporting on this event.
