One key word: change.

• Author: Cattivelli, Adrian
• Position: OAS - Organization of American States

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

FERNANDO LUGO, the President of Paraguay, and Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia, visited the offices of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington in October and November, 2008, respectively. They were each received in formal sessions of the Permanent Council where they spoke about the political situations of their countries Both presidents thanked the OAS for its role in the preservation, promotion, and strengthening of democratic processes in their countries.

President Lugo, who took office on August 15, 2008, expressed his thanks to the OAS for the role it played in historic elections that brought an end to the Colorado Party's 60 years of political hegemony in Paraguay. "One priority for the OAS is the preservation and consolidation of democracy," Lugo said. "Along these lines, we want to take the opportunity to express our gratitude to the OAS Election Mission in Paraguay, which collaborated with high quality work and great effort towards transparency in the process that culminated on April 20 in my country."

Lugo continued by saying, "It is not possible to reflect completely here on the true dimension, the real meaning, of this change, which has opened the gates to dignity in political office, engendered trust in the project of transparency, and, above all, after a half century, introduced into the political dictionary of Paraguay, the word ALTERNANCIA [the peaceful transfer of power from...