Paraguay's Lugo refuses to back land invaders

In this morning’s “Daily Headlines” we linked to an Economist.com piece that examined where soon-to-be Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo will fit in “the spectrum of Latin America’s leftist presidents.” Earlier today, he provided a clue as to which way he will lean:

Paraguayan president-elect Fernando Lugo says he does not support landless peasants who plan to invade farms in three northern states of the South American country…

"There are no radicalized peasants among my main collaborators, and those who have been encouraging or carrying out farm invasions in the last few days are not justified," Lugo said.

Lugo’s rhetoric has been to walk the tightrope between the needs of peasant leaders and wealthy landowners. Land reform is a very delicate topic in a country where, according to a 2004 government study, about 17 million acres ended up in the hands of just 1,877 people.

With one week to go before inauguration, it would behoove the “bishop of the poor” to create a comprehensive, pragmatic program that would fairly distribute land and help in the prosperity of all Paraguayans.

Image- Economist.com

Sources- Economist.com, The Latin Americanist, Associated Press