Woman bids to lead Paraguay by Monika Stefanakova

Paraguay's ruling party on Monday nominated a former education minister seeking to become Paraguay's first female leader as its presidential candidate, ending a month-long dispute over a primary election result. If elected in the April balloting, Blanca Ovelar would become the country's first woman head of state and the third woman elected president in South America in recent years. Women now lead Argentina and Chile. She is an academic, educator and mother of three who served as the minister of education and culture before she stepped down last year. However, her chief rival for the nomination, former Vice President Luis Castiglione, vowed to pursue his legal challenge. If her candidacy withstands the internal test, Ovelar probably would confront a pair of popular opposition leaders who have declared their intention to challenge the Colorado Party's hegemony in the general elections. Contesting the Colorado Party's longtime domination are two populist candidates . Fernando Lugo, a former Roman Catholic bishop dubbed the ‘'Bishop of the Poor'', who has won backing from indigenous and impoverished Paraguayans. The other is Lino Oviedo, a charismatic former general who is back on the national scene after serving a prison term for plotting a coup. The Colorado Party has held power in Paraguay for 60 years. Paraguay, a landlocked tropical nation of almost 7 million people. The current president is Nicanor Duarte Frutos, but he must step down this year because of a limit to five-year term. If Blanca Ovelar wins, she would be the third woman president in South America, joining Argentine President Cristina Fernandey de Kirchner and Michelle Bachelet of Chile.

by Monika Stefanakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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