President Nicanor Duarte has joined the ranks of the Latin American rulers who have abjured of neoliberalism. In his inaugural address on 15 August he said, `Neoliberalism has been a failure because it denies and subjugates human dignity [...] The human being is more than the market.' Castigating the `oracles of unemployment and misery' and rejecting the adoption of `mimetic cultures [in the service of] foreign interests', Duarte promised to adopt policies seeking `development with a human face' and `a society with equality of opportunity'.
He did not provide details, beyond promising to strengthen public finances and rationalise public spending (`without ever striking against the social question'). He appeared to rule out any move towards autarky, saying that Paraguay had to join the trend towards globalisation, while preserving its `genuine and original personality'. [He had previously ruled out privatising public-service companies.]
As expected, Duarte appointed his economic adviser Dionisio Borda as finance minister. The industry & commerce portfolio went to Ernesto Bergen, leader of a Mennonite dairy cooperative. His campaign manager, Roberto González, was given the `political' interior ministry. Foreign affairs was entrusted to the seasoned diplomat Leila Rachid, former ambassador to Washington, and for defence he brought Carlos Romero Pereira out of political retirement.
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