Juan Carlos Wasmosy

Juan Carlos Wasmosy (born Dec. 15, 1938, Asunción, Para.) Paraguayan civil engineer and businessman who served as president of Paraguay (1993–98). He was the country’s first civilian president in 39 years.

Wasmosy was trained as a civil engineer at the National University of Asunción. A leading cotton exporter, cattle rancher, and construction magnate, he made his fortune in the 1970s with construction contracts for the Paraguayan-Brazilian Itaipú Dam, one of the world’s largest hydroelectric dams, and he became one of Paraguay’s wealthiest businessmen.

Wasmosy had little government experience before running for president. His only government post had been minister of integration (1991–93) under Pres. Andrés Rodríguez. In December 1992 Wasmosy contested the primary elections of the ruling National Republican Association (Asociación Nacional Republicana), popularly known as the Colorado Party. Wasmosy was backed by Rodríguez, party president Blas Riquelme, and powerful forces within the military, while his rival in the primary, Luis María Argaña, had the support of exiled former president Alfredo Stroessner. The results of the primary showed a narrow margin, and a controversial Colorado Party electoral tribunal ruling on March 4, 1993, proclaimed Wasmosy the party’s presidential nominee.

In what appeared to be a choice for continuity and stability, Wasmosy was elected president on May 9, 1993, with 40 percent of the vote. The elections were deemed the first free elections in Paraguay’s history, and when he was sworn in for a five-year term on August 15, Wasmosy also became the first civilian president since 1954. But the triangle—government, army, and Colorado Party—that had governed Paraguay since 1947 remained intact. Also, Wasmosy did not have the backing of a unified party. The Colorado Party won the largest number of seats in both chambers of Congress in the May elections, but the united opposition bloc held a majority. Meanwhile, supporters of Argaña held more seats than those of Wasmosy and vowed to follow their own agenda.

Because of the factional nature of the Colorado Party, Wasmosy faced challenges in the passage of each piece of legislation during his presidency. A solid conservative who supported market-oriented economic policies, Wasmosy urged Paraguay’s increased participation in Mercosur, a regional common market. He also privatized the national airline, merchant fleet, and steel company, among others.

In 1996 Wasmosy forced Gen. Lino Oviedo, the country’s military strongman who had helped topple Stroessner in 1989, to step down as the army chief. When Oviedo threatened a military coup, Wasmosy promised Oviedo the position of defense minister. Many Paraguayans accused Wasmosy of compromising a civilian government, and they led demonstrations in the capital and called for his resignation. Shortly afterward Wasmosy reversed his offer to Oviedo. (Later, when Oviedo retired from active service and reemerged as a Colorado Party front-runner in the 1998 presidential race, Wasmosy retaliated by having Oviedo arrested on charges arising from his 1996 coup attempt.)

In 2002 Wasmosy was sentenced to four years in prison for the embezzlement of public funds during his presidency. The decision was appealed, and the sentence was reduced to bail and house arrest. As a former president of Paraguay, he was made a senator for life.