José Luis Chilavert: The former Paraguayan goalkeeper has regularly made a name for himself throughout his career. The football legend undoubtedly believed that he would also be able to achieve high results in the presidential elections in his native country. That was disgusting.
Success on the football field does not guarantee success at the polls. During Paraguay’s presidential election on Sunday, Jose Luis Chilavert won with just 24,284 votes out of more than three million votes cast. He converted, meaning 0.80 percent of the vote, while the right-wing candidate Santiago Peña got more than 42 percent of the vote.
And so the 44-year-old economist and former finance minister became the new president of Paraguay. The Colorado-winner Peña has ruled the South American country almost continuously since 1947. Peña will inaugurate on August 15th.
The goalkeeper as a goal machine
Chilavert (57) played football in Europe for Spanish club Real Zaragoza and Strasbourg in France. The Paraguayan goalkeeper celebrated his greatest success with Argentine club Velez Sarsfield, with whom he won the Copa Libertadores, the most important trophy for South American clubs. Chilavert was named the best goalkeeper in the world three times in the 1990s.
The 74-time international not only gained fame for his goalkeeping skills, but also for his goals. Chilavert scored 67 goals from penalties and free kicks, eight of them for the national team. The goalkeeper was the captain of the Paraguay national team at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.
Paraguay: Growth and Corruption
Paraguay – the South American country sandwiched perfectly between Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia – has a fairly stable economy compared to the rest of the region. Over the past two decades, for example, the country has seen average growth of about 4 percent annually. The rate of inflation has also remained relatively low. Massive corruption plagued the country. Recently, the United States announced the imposition of sanctions on corruption charges against Pena’s political mentor: former President of Paraguay and Colorado party leader Horacio Cartes.
Also remarkable: Paraguay is the only country in South America that diplomatically recognizes Taiwan. Worldwide, there are only a few countries that do this. The winner of the election – Benya – will continue his country’s politics, but despite this he also wants to focus on improving economic relations with China, which still considers Taiwan a renegade province.
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