Ex-bishop Fernando Lugo shakes up politics in Paraguay

"I'm not here to hand out beer, liquor, sausages," Fernando Lugo advises, alluding to the traditional giveaways of Paraguayan pols on the stump. "I'm here to share the hope of change with the people."

Tiny, landlocked Paraguay, still recovering from the stultifying legacy of the 35-year dictatorship of Gen. Alfredo Stroessner, will cast ballots today to elect a new president. The stunning emergence of Lugo, a former Roman Catholic bishop, as the leading presidential candidate has turned the place upside down.

The so-called pink tide of left-leaning leaders has altered the face of Latin America. But there has been no candidate quite like Lugo. Supporters see him as the embodiment of hope amid gloom. Critics warn of an impending conflagration if the arm-waving orator wins.

"From today on, my cathedral will be the country," Lugo declared when he resigned the priesthood in December 2006. The Vatican, irritated by the public gesture, says Lugo remains a priest and is barred by canon law from seeking public office.

Voters in the United States may question whether any U.S. presidential aspirant will deliver on the "change" mantra. Here, not even Lugo's fiercest enemies doubt that he is capable of shaking up sleepy Paraguay.

Lugo is like a charismatic comet on a collision course with the lumbering planet that is Paraguay's political status quo -- more than 60 years of leadership by the Colorado Party, which has governed longer than any political party currently in power, including the communist regimes of China and North Korea. The Colorado reign includes the brutal klepto-dictatorship of Stroessner, who was ousted in 1989, leaving the country broke, backward and ill-equipped for a globalized 21st century. Democracy is a fragile notion here.

Detractors call Lugo a leftist fanatic who will lead the country to socialistic ruin, creating a protectorate of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in South America's tropical heartland. Outgoing President Nicanor Duarte Frutos, a firm U.S. ally who is barred by the constitution from seeking reelection, even charged last week that "social agitators" were plotting attacks.

"They want to burn properties, service stations and other resources to upset the social peace," Duarte said. "The one responsible for the violence and death is going to be Fernando Lugo and his band of delinquents and kidnappers."