Colorado Party (Paraguay)

For the Uruguayan party of the same name, see Colorado Party (Uruguay).

National Republican Association – Colorado Party Asociación Nacional Republicana – Partido Colorado
Abbreviation	ANR-PC
Leader	Santiago Peña
President	Horacio Cartes
Founder	Bernardino Caballero
Founded	11 September 1887;138 years ago (1887-09-11)
Headquarters	25 de Mayo N° 842 c/ Tacuary - Asunción
Membership (2022)	2,616,424 [1]
Ideology	Conservatism [2] Republicanism Paraguayan nationalism [3] Economic liberalism [4] Pro-Taiwan [5] Factions Cartismo
Political position	Centre-right [6] to right-wing [7]
Regional affiliation	Union of Latin American Parties [8]
International affiliation	International Democracy Union [9]
Colours	Red, white
Chamber of Deputies	48 / 80
Senate	23 / 45
Mercosur Parliament (Paraguay seats)	11 / 18
Governors	15 / 17
Party flag
Website
www.anr.org.py
Politics of Paraguay Political parties Elections

The National Republican Association (Spanish : Asociación Nacional Republicana, ANR), also known as the Colorado Party (Spanish: Partido Colorado, lit. 'Red Party'), is a conservative political party in Paraguay, founded on 11 September 1887 by Bernardino Caballero. Since 1947, the colorados, as they are known, has been dominant in Paraguayan politics (ruling as the only legal party between 1947 and 1962) and has 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), ^[10] 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. ^{[11] [12]} Since then, there has been an expansion of civil and political liberties, as well as elections at presidential, congressional, and municipal levels. ^[11] However, the democratization process has been limited due to the firm control of the Colorado Party on the Paraguayan state. ^[12] The Colorado Party retains power through clientelistic practices, ^[12] and corruption is widespread in Paraguay. ^[12]

History

1887–1989

The party, though founded only in 1887 as an answer to the foundation of the Liberal Party in that same year, already informally existed from the late 1870s onward, as a political group centered around Bernardino Caballero, Cándido Bareiro and José Segundo Decoud.

It formally ruled the country from its foundation until 1904, when it was overthrown in the Revolution of 1904. It became the dominant political force in the country when it rejoined the government in 1947, following the conclusion of the 1947 civil war, during Higinio Moríñigo's rule as president. During this time, the party operated multiple paramilitary wings. From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party ruled Paraguay as a one-party state; all other political parties were illegal. ^[13] 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. ^[14] 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. ^[15] 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. ^[16]

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". ^[17]

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.

Election	Party candidate	Votes	%	Result
1953	Federico Chávez	224,788	100%	Elected (sole legal party)Y
1954	Alfredo Stroessner	236,191	100%	Elected (sole legal party)Y
1958		295,414	100%	Elected (sole legal party)Y
1963		569,551	92.3%	ElectedY
1968		465,535	71.6%	ElectedY
1973		681,306	84.7%	ElectedY
1978		905,461	90.8%	ElectedY
1983		944,637	91.0%	ElectedY
1988		1,187,738	89.6%	ElectedY
1989	Andrés Rodríguez	882,957	76.59%	ElectedY
1993	Juan Carlos Wasmosy	449,505	41.78%	ElectedY
1998	Raúl Cubas Grau	887,196	55.35%	ElectedY
2003	Nicanor Duarte	574,232	38.30%	ElectedY
2008	Blanca Ovelar	573,995	31.75%	LostN
2013	Horacio Cartes	1,104,169	48.48%	ElectedY
2018	Mario Abdo Benítez	1,206,067	48.96%	ElectedY
2023	Santiago Peña	1,292,079	43.94%	ElectedY

Vice presidential election

Election	Party candidate	Votes	%	Result
2000	Félix Argaña	587,498	48.8%	LostN

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.

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
1960			60 / 60	60
1963	569,551	92.3%	40 / 60	20
1968	465,535	71.6%	40 / 60
1973	681,306	84.7%	40 / 60
1978	905,461	90.7%	40 / 60
1983	944,637	91.0%	40 / 60
1988	1,187,738	89.6%	40 / 60
1989	845,820	74.5%	40 / 72
1993	488,342	43.4%	38 / 80	2
1998	857,473	53.8%	45 / 80	7
2003	520,761	35.3%	37 / 80	8
2008	582,932	32.96%	30 / 80	7
2013	919,625	40.99%	44 / 80	14
2018	927,183	39.10%	42 / 80	2
2023	1,345,730	47.43%	48 / 80	6

Senate elections

Note: free and fair elections did not take place until 1993.

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
1968			20 / 30	20
1973	681,306	84.7%	20 / 30
1978			20 / 30
1983			20 / 30
1988			20 / 30
1993	498,586	44.0%	20 / 45
1998	813,287	51.7%	24 / 45	4
2003	508,506	34.4%	16 / 45	8
2008	509,907	29.07%	15 / 45	1
2013	865,206	38.50%	19 / 45	4
2018	766,841	32.52%	17 / 45	2
2023	1,317,463	45.72%	23 / 45	6

See also

• Colorado Party militias

References

1. "ANR vuelve a habilitar su padrón con 2.616.424 afiliados que pueden votar". 4 October 2022.
2. Ramirez, Jose (18 March 2021). "Sobre «Mapa Genético ANR», de Carola González Alsina. Tercera parte".
3. ""La ANR se sustenta en el nacionalismo y el patriotismo", expresa Darío Filártiga". www.lanacion.com.py (in Spanish). 11 September 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
4. Jorge González-Gallarza (6 July 2023). "Paraguay Athwart consevatism". europeanconservative.com. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
5. "Paraguay's Taiwan ties safe as ruling party retains presidency". The Guardian. 1 May 2023.
6. "Paraguay's Colorados back in office; opposition admits defeat; observers praise election process". MercoPress.
7. Nicas, Jack; Blair, Laurence (1 May 2023). "Paraguay Voters Elect Conservative Economist as President". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 18 February 2025.
8. "Partidos Miembros". Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
9. "Members". February 2018.
10. According to multiple sources:
    • "Me afiliaron sin mi consentimiento" [I was affiliated without my consent]. El Surtidor (in Spanish). 30 March 2021.
    • "Tribunal hace lugar a un hábeas data contra ANR por afiliación ilegal" [Court grants habeas data petition against ANR for illegal affiliation]. Última Hora (in Spanish). 3 March 2023.
    • "ANR reactivó su web: sepa qué hacer si sigue figurando como afiliado" [ANR reactivated its website: find out what to do if you are still listed as an affiliate]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 30 July 2021.
    • "Urgen una ley de protección de datos tras afiliaciones falsas a la ANR" [Data protection law urgently needed after false affiliations with the ANR]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 31 July 2021.
    • "Investigarán a partidos políticos por producción de documentos falsos" [Political parties to be investigated for producing false documents]. Paraguay.com (in Spanish). 20 November 2012. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023.
11. Lambert, Peter (2000). "A decade of electoral democracy: continuity, change and crisis in Paraguay" . Bulletin of Latin American Research. 19 (3): 379–396. doi:10.1016/S0261-3050(00)00002-4. ISSN   0261-3050.
12. Nickson, Andrew (2025). "The Legacies of the Stroessner Dictatorship in Paraguay" . Current History. 124 (859): 68–73. doi:10.1525/curh.2025.124.859.68. ISSN   0011-3530.
13. "Paraguay: Opposition Parties". Library of Congress Country Studies. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009.
14. "Paraguay: The Twin Pillars of the Stroessner Regime". Library of Congress Country Studies. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009.
15. Smith, James F. (4 February 1989). "Military Coup Topples Paraguay's Stroessner : Incoming President Promises Democracy, Respect for Rights". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
16. "Paraguay: Potential Successors to Stroessner" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2017.
17. "Horacio Cartes: Millionaire. Criminal. Business titan. Homophobe. The next president of Paraguay?". The Independent. 19 April 2013.

External links

• ANR – Partido Colorado