Paraguay is living a historical moment with the peaceful transfer from a government of one political affiliation to another next August. The victory of the “Patriotic Alliance for Change� (PAC) � in the hands of the former bishop Fernando Lugo � over the Colorado Party � in office for the last 61 years � was facilitated by an irreconcilable division in the governing party.

The PAC comprises an alliance of parties, whose main force was the PLRA � a traditional party � together with other smaller parties. From the very beginning there was no consensus concerning programmatic issues, which turned the alliance into a mere electoral one.

In this context and facing the need to reach agreement in order to legitimize the Government in the different governing bodies � especially Congress � and to grant stability and support the Lugo Administration; a democratic dialogue capable of generating political, economic and social consensus as well as alliances and agreements becomes vital. All actors and sectors must participate in this dialogue in order to build a long-term vision, and generate agreements among the three branches of government.

In an effort to adapt to the changing development priorities of Paraguay the UNDP office will undergo a process of supporting the development of a governance strategy to better attend the emergent needs.

A presentation and dicussion was held at UNDP Paraguay with the Removing Unfreedoms Tools of Change work and film in order to consider the principles of Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom. Programme participants included the Human development report, the private sector micro finance, goverance and poverty reduction.

Further discussion are formulating a goverance proposal that might provide some directional support for the next government.

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