Peña, the dispute over the meaning of “change” and the persistent ignorance about the ANR
By José Duarte Penayo.
On the eve of the elections, a journalist from the Argentinean media C5N asked a vendor at Mercado 4 if she wanted “change or continuity”. As the answer was “I want change”, the immediate question was whether the vote would go to Efraín Alegre or Paraguayo Cubas. To the surprise of the journalist, and surely of her audience, the answer was “I will vote for Santi Peña”. The situation -in which a voter associated the change to Santi Peña and not to Efraín or Payo- surprised the reporter, who did not necessarily have the duty to know in depth all the aspects of the Paraguayan political situation. What is striking, and much more shocking and problematic, is when such ignorance is the basis for readings on the last electoral contests.