Mario Abdo Benítez

Mario Abdo Benítez
51st President of Paraguay
Assumed office
15 August 2018
Vice President Hugo Velázquez
Preceded by Horacio Cartes
President of the Senate
In office
1 July 2015 – 30 June 2016
Preceded by Blas Llano
Succeeded by Roberto Acevedo
Senator of Paraguay
In office
1 July 2013 – 1 March 2018[1]
Personal details
Born (1971-11-10) 10 November 1971
Asunción, Paraguay
Nationality Paraguayan
Political party Colorado Party
Spouse(s) Fátima Díaz Benza (div.)
Silvana López Moreira
Children 2
Alma mater Teikyo Post University

Mario Abdo Benítez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈma.ɾjo ˈaβ.ðo βeˈni.tes]; born 10 November 1971) is a Paraguayan politician. A former president of the Senate of Paraguay,[2] Abdo Benítez is the incumbent President of Paraguay.[3]

Early life and education

Abdo Benítez was born in Asunción on 10 November 1971, son of Ruth Benítez Perrier and Mario Abdo Benítez Sr.[4] His father’s ancestry is Lebanese.[5][6] Upon completion of his secondary schooling in 1989 he joined the Paraguayan Armed Forces, obtaining the rank of Second Lieutenant of Reserve Aviation and in turn was appointed by the Air Force Command as a paratrooper.[7] He then completed his university studies at Teikyo Post University in Waterbury, Connecticut, obtaining a degree in marketing.[7]

Political career

His first steps in politics were in 2005 as a member of the Republican National Reconstruction movement.[7] He was later a member of the Peace and Progress movement and won the Vice Presidency of the Colorado Party in 2005.[7] In June 2015, he was elected president of the Senate of Paraguay.[2][7]

Abdo Benítez has faced criticism for his relationship with the military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, as his father was Stroessner's private secretary.[3][8][9] When Stroessner died in 2006, he proposed that the Governing Board of the Colorado Party pay him tribute.[8] The fortune Abdo Benítez owns was inherited from his father, who after the fall of the dictatorship was prosecuted for illicit enrichment, but the case was eventually dismissed.[8] Abdo Benítez has stated that while he believes that Stroessner "did a lot for the country", he also clarified that he does not condone the violations of human rights, torture and persecution committed during the regime.[8][10]

In December 2017, Abdo Benítez won the Colorado Party presidential primaries by defeating former Minister of Finance Santiago Peña with 564,811 votes (50.93%) to 480,114 (43.29%).[11] In April 2018, Abdo Benítez won the 2018 elections by defeating Efraín Alegre with 46.46% of the votes to 42.73%.[3] At age 46 Abdo Benítez became, alongside Nicanor Duarte Frutos, the youngest President of Paraguay since the fall of Alfredo Stroessner's dictatorship.[12]

Personal life

His first marriage was to Fátima María Díaz, with whom he had two sons. Following their divorce, he married Silvana López.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Marito renuncia al Senado para dedicarse a la campaña electoral" [Marito resigns to the Senate to dedicate himself to the electoral campaign]. Última Hora (in Spanish). 1 March 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Mario Abdo Benítez es electo presidente del Congreso" [Mario Abdo Benítez is elected president of Congress]. Última Hora (in Spanish). 16 June 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "Mario Abdo Benítez wins Paraguay's presidential election". BBC News. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  4. ↑ ""Yo vengo para cambiar la realidad del Paraguay..."" ["I come to change the reality of Paraguay ..."]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 8 April 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Mario Abdo Benitez, d'origine libanaise, élu président du Paraguay". L'orient le jour.com. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Mario Abdu Benitez, a 46-year-old former Paraguayan senator, is among them the new President of Paraguay: Who are the Arabs of Latin America?". BBC News: Arabic. BBC. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Quién es quién en la puja de ANR por la chapa: las carreras de Peña y Marito" [Who is who in the ANR bid for the ticket: the careers of Peña and Marito]. Hoy (in Spanish). 17 December 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mario Abdo Benítez, un "hijo del stronismo" en carrera" [Mario Abdo Benítez, a "son of stronismo" in career]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 15 May 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Abdo Benítez resalta obras del stronismo y el progreso del país gracias a la ANR" [Abdo Benítez highlights works of the stronismo and the progress of the country thanks to the ANR]. Última Hora (in Spanish). 24 January 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "Mario Abdo y su vínculo con Stroessner: "Uno no elige dónde nacer"" [Mario Abdo and his link with Stroessner: "One does not choose where to be born"]. Última Hora (in Spanish). 12 October 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "En un duro revés para Horacio Cartes, un senador disidente ganó las primarias presidenciales en Paraguay" [In a hard setback for Horacio Cartes, a dissident senator won the presidential primaries in Paraguay]. Infobae (in Spanish). 18 December 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  12. ↑ "Paraguay elige presidente a un 'joven' conservador ligado familiarmente a la dictadura" [Paraguay elects a conservative 'young' president linked to the dictatorship]. HuffPost (in Spanish). 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
Political offices
Preceded by
Horacio Cartes		 President of Paraguay
2018–present		 Incumbent
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