another lefty prez in south america

Fernando Lugo was elected the new President of Paraguay. He is a former bishop who sided with landless peasants and pissed off the elite in his diocese. If Latin Americans keep this up, they could form their own version of a democratic-socialist E.U. that could really affect the balance of power in the world. Rising food prices are going to pressure governments to actually do things for their own people. Here's an excerpt from a January interview with IPS news:
IPS: Will you carry out land reform?

FL: We believe Paraguay must recover its credibility on the international stage, and one essential element is land redistribution. In the early 1990s, Paraguay received a 40 million dollar loan from the Inter-American Development Bank to create a national land ownership registry, which to this day has not been carried out. Only 10 to 15 percent in the south of the country has been covered. As long as we lack a credible land registry, people will continue to be duped. The point of departure for land reform is transparency about who owns what land. With the participation of government, small farmers’ organisations and industrial sectors, we could design a land reform process that would not be traumatic or violent, but would be the product of inclusive and consensual negotiation.

IPS: In terms of your plans for the country, to whom do you feel closest: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Néstor Kirchner of Argentina, Evo Morales of Bolivia or Hugo Chávez of Venezuela?

FL: Paraguay has to make its own way forward. I don’t think we can import a foreign model. I’m in favour of collective and shared leadership. I think that in some countries there are very strong individual leaders, such as in Chávez’s case, for example. When leadership isn’t shared, individual leaders can cause polarisation, as I believe is happening in Bolivia. I don’t believe in creating a polarised society. We have enough problems already without creating additional conflict. I believe in dialogue as the social instrument to build a country.