By Daniela Desantis and Lucinda Elliott
ASUNCION (Reuters) – Economist Santiago Pena was sworn in on Tuesday as Paraguay’s president for the next five years after defeating his liberal rival in April elections.
Pena took the presidential oath outside Asuncion’s government palace in a solemn ceremony attended by South American leaders, the king of Spain and Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai. Paraguay is one of the few remaining countries in the world that retains formal diplomatic ties with the self-governed island claimed by China.
Pena, 44, secured a solid election victory in April and replaces Mario Abdo Benitez. Both are from the conservative Colorado Party, which has dominated Paraguayan politics for the last three-quarters of a century.
(Reporting by Daniela Desantis and Lucinda Elliott; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
