Almost 70% of Paraguayans Disapprove of Cartes' Administration

​An overwhelming majority of the Paraguayan population rejects the policies implemented under President Horacio Cartes, according to a survey released Saturday.

The poll, taken to mark two years of Cartes’ administration, found 41 percent of respondents judged his administration “bad,” and 23 percent “very bad.”

The research was conducted in the Central province, which contains capital city Asuncion, by the company Ibope CIES for various local media. Those surveyed also asked for better policies regarding employment, security and health.

Cartes, elected shortly after the parliamentary coup against the only progressive president in the country's history Fernando Lugo, had promised to reduce the poverty rates before the end of his term in 2018.

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Many demonstrations have shaken the country in recent months, protesting against corruption and “narcopolitics,” against a privatization bill, or in the demand of an agrarian reform, among others.

Earlier in July, when President Cartes delivered his state-of-the-union address, he was criticized by members of his own party for failing to address issues that people care about while focusing only on his administration’s accomplishments.

The supposed accomplishments of the Cartes’ administration were met with skepticism from members of his own party, the National Republic Association (ANR-PC), including the president of Paraguay’s Senate, Mario Abdo Benitez, who accused President Cartes of trying to undermine the country’s institutional stability.