ASUNCION, Paraguay, (Reuters) – Pope Francis urged Paraguay to consolidate democracy and end corruption and drug trafficking, after receiving a colourful welcome yesterday at the start of the last leg of his eight-day South American tour.
The Argentine-pontiff was in Bolivia earlier in the day where he visited one of Latin America’s most violent prisons. There, saying he too had made mistakes and sinned, the pope called on inmates to shun gang violence and exhorted guards to treat them with dignity..
The pope’s reception in the Paraguayan capital, Asuncion, included women dancing in long swaying dresses as Paraguayan Guarania music played and people dressed as saints with halos were carried on platforms.
His first stop after the airport was a brief, unscheduled visit to the Buen Pastor (Good Shepherd) women’s prison, where inmates sang for him in an outside courtyard.
Later, in an address to Paraguay’s leaders after a private meeting with President Horacio Cartes, Francis said: “For some years now, Paraguay has sought to build a solid and stable democracy. It is proper to recognize with satisfaction progress made in this direction.”
But he said Paraguay “must banish the temptation to be satisfied with a purely formal democracy,” and its governments “based on the promotion of and respect for human rights.”
Paraguay’s previous president was thrown out of power by Congress.
Paraguay has had its share of human rights violations over the last 60 years. In 1954 General Alfredo Stroessner seized power in coup, ushering in more than 30 years of dictatorship.
In 1989 Stroessner himself was tossed out of power in a coup by General Andres Rodriguez, who was then elected president while Stroessner’s conservative Colorado Party won parliamentary elections.
