Paraguay Opposition Wins Key Mayor Races in Blow to Colorado Party

Paraguay’s ruling Colorado Party suffered a significant electoral setback on Sunday after opposition candidates won mayoral races in the capital, Asuncion, and the key commercial city of Ciudad del Este. The municipal elections were widely viewed as a midterm test for the right-wing government ahead of Paraguay’s 2028 general election.

With 99.92% of ballots counted in Asuncion, opposition candidate Soledad Nunez secured 47.78% of the vote, defeating Colorado Party candidate Camilo Perez, who received 45.98%. The result ends the Colorado Party’s control of the capital’s mayoral office, which it had held since 2019.

Perez said Sunday night that he would wait for an official review of the election results on Monday.

Nunez, who ran for vice president in Paraguay’s 2023 election, will take charge of a municipality facing major financial and infrastructure challenges. Asuncion is burdened by millions of dollars in debt obligations, missed interest payments, delayed public works projects and persistent infrastructure problems.

The opposition scored an even more decisive victory in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay’s second-largest city and an important commercial hub in the tri-border region with Brazil and Argentina.

Dani Mujica, representing the opposition Yo Creo movement, won 72.83% of the vote, compared with 23.8% for the Colorado Party candidate, with all ballots counted.

The result could also strengthen the national profile of Miguel Prieto, the centrist leader of Yo Creo. Prieto, a 37-year-old lawyer, is expected to run for Paraguay’s presidency in the 2028 election.

Analysts view Prieto as a rising political force capable of mounting one of the strongest challenges in years to the Colorado Party’s longstanding dominance of Paraguayan politics.

The opposition victories in Asuncion and Ciudad del Este could provide fresh momentum ahead of the 2028 general election while highlighting growing political pressure on the ruling Colorado Party.