Colorado Party has cheated since 1887, says Paraguayan senator

Senator Celeste Amarilla has accused Paraguay's Colorado Party of engaging in electoral fraud since its establishment in 1887. Responding to criticism from Congress President Basilio “Bachi” Núñez, who questioned the opposition's demand for increased election controls, Amarilla asserted that the Colorado Party has consistently cheated and stolen the popular will on numerous occasions.

Amarilla labeled Núñez a "shameless" individual for suggesting that the opposition's push for a runoff voting system, or "balotaje," is an attempt to gain power without a convincing political project. She argued that the opposition's insistence on greater controls stems directly from the Colorado Party's historical actions.

"They have been cheating us since 1887," Amarilla declared, tracing the origins of the Liberal Party to a response against alleged abuses by Colorado Party leaders in Villarrica in 1887. She recounted a story of party founders entering a town on horseback to steal ballot boxes, framing this as the party's foundational act.

Núñez had previously warned that a runoff system would "attack democracy." Amarilla countered this by calling him "shameless and forgetful," stating that those who fail to learn from history are the Colorado Party. She reiterated that the party has repeatedly stolen the popular will, making the opposition's demand for more controls entirely legitimate.