Posted on 02/07/2003 10:20:04 AM PST by Indy Pendance
ASUNCION, Paraguay, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The fate of Paraguay's embattled leader will be decided early next week, local newspapers reported Friday.
President Luis Gonzalez Macchi has been the focus of a two-week impeachment proceeding by opposition lawmakers who allege that Paraguay's leader of four years misappropriated millions of dollars in state money.
Analysts expect that the president will be removed from office when the verdict is handed down on Tuesday.
Paraguayan law stipulates that it would take a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to oust Macchi from office.
Friday's announcement regarding his probable impeachment is just the latest in a series of incidents plaguing the Paraguayan leader. The president's popularity has plummeted in recent months and in July, widespread frustration over the impoverished nation's flagging economy manifested itself in street protests that prompted officials to call for the temporary suspension of some civil rights.
Protesters blocked roads in several cities in an effort to force Macchi to step down from leading South America's poorest country, one of five million residents that shares a border with Brazil and Argentina.
This is not the first time since the country emerged from 35 years of dictatorial rule in 1989 that a Paraguayan leader has faced contentious criticism and impeachment. Raul Cubas, Macchi's predecessor, was also driven from office by street protests and impeachment proceedings.
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