Ex-general and Paraguayan politician (1943?2013)
In this
Spanish name
, the first or paternal
surname
is
Oviedo
and the second or maternal family name is
Silva
.
Lino Cesar Oviedo Silva
(23 September 1943 ? 2 February 2013) was a Paraguayan army officer and politician, who was the leader of the
National Union of Ethical Citizens
, which split from the
Colorado Party
in 2002.
Life and work
[
edit
]
Early career
[
edit
]
Oviedo was born in poverty in the town of
Juan de Mena
(
Cordillera Department
) on September 23, 1943. He chose a military career, studied in Germany and eventually became a close aide to General
Andres Rodriguez
. He was named chief of the Army in 1993. When President
Juan Carlos Wasmosy
asked him to step down from that position in April 1996, he allegedly refused and
attempted a coup d'etat
. After days of tension, Wasmosy offered him the Defence Ministry instead, but when Oviedo went to the presidential palace to take the oath, dressed in civilian clothes, the President, backed by popular demonstrations, withdrew the offer.
Ousted from the military, he concentrated in winning the ruling Colorado Party's candidacy for the 1998 presidential elections, and succeeded by presenting a populist platform through his great rhetorical skills. A month before the national elections, and while leading the polls, he was finally condemned to a ten-year prison term for his 1996 military mutiny. His running mate
Raul Cubas
continued the campaign and eventually won the elections, largely based on the promise to free Oviedo, which in fact he did days after taking office, over the protest of the Paraguayan Supreme Court and opposition leaders.
In March 1999, vice president
Luis Maria Argana
, a key political enemy of both Oviedo and President Cubas, was assassinated. In the midst of riots and political turmoil known as
Marzo paraguayo
("Paraguayan March"), Cubas resigned, abandoning Oviedo, who fled into exile, first in
Argentina
and then in
Brazil
.
Imprisonment and release (2004-2007)
[
edit
]
On June 28, 2004, he returned to
Paraguay
and was detained by the police, who took him to the Military Prison of
Vinas Cue
, located a short distance from
Asuncion
. Initially sentenced to a ten-year term, he was released on parole for good behavior on 6 September 2007.
[1]
In November 2006, a Paraguayan man,
Tomas Velazquez
, held a
hunger strike
before he
crucified
himself publicly as a protest in
Asuncion
. He maintained that Oviedo was the target of political persecution and that the
military tribunal
that convicted him for his alleged participation in a
subversive plot
was
illegal
according to the
constitution
, as it had been conducted in
time of peace
.
[2]
On 30 October 2007, Oviedo's conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court
[3]
[4]
in an eight to one decision
[4]
following testimony from former officers that there had been no coup attempt. The ruling left Oviedo free to run in the
April 2008 presidential election
.
[3]
[4]
Later political career
[
edit
]
In January 2008 he was nominated as the candidate of his party, the
National Union of Ethical Citizens
(UNACE), without opposition.
[5]
He lost the
2008 Paraguayan presidential election
, to
Fernando Lugo
getting 22.8% of votes.
Lino Oviedo's similarly-named nephew,
Lino Cesar Oviedo Sanchez
, has been a member of the
Senate of Paraguay
for UNACE since 2008.
[6]
Death
[
edit
]
On the night of 2 February 2013, Lino Cesar Oviedo died in a helicopter accident near
Puerto Antequera
, in the
Chaco region
. He was flying back to Asuncion after an electoral rally held in the city of
Concepcion
. His death was confirmed the following day by a national police rescue team.
[7]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Paraguay's Oviedo leaves prison"
, BBC News, 6 September 2007.
- ^
"Paraguay man crucified in public"
, BBC News, 30 November 2006.
- ^
a
b
"Paraguayan High Court Annuls Former General's Coup Conviction"
[
permanent dead link
]
, VOA News, October 31, 2007.
- ^
a
b
c
Bill Faries,
"Paraguay's Oviedo Cleared to Run for Presidency, Nacion Says"
, Bloomberg.com, October 31, 2007.
- ^
"Once-jailed Paraguayan army chief nominated for opposition run for president"
, Associated Press (
The China Post
), January 14, 2008.
- ^
(in Spanish)
Ultima Hora
, 16 August 2008,
Lino Cesar Oviedo fue abucheado por la multitudinaria concurrencia
- ^
(in Spanish)
Ultima Hora
, 3 February 2013,
Fallecio Lino Oviedo en accidente de helicoptero en el Chaco
Archived
2013-02-06 at the
Wayback Machine
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