Nicanor Duarte

Óscar Nicanor Duarte Frutos (born 11 October 1956) is a Paraguayan lawyer, journalist and politician who served as the 47th President of Paraguay from 2003 to 2008. A member of the Colorado Party, he became the central figure of Paraguayan politics during his presidency.

Born into a lower class rural family, Duarte pursued a career in law and later journalism, becoming a radio sports commentator and columnist. In the 1990s he got into politics, serving in the cabinets of Presidents Juan Carlos Wasmosy and Luis González Macchi, both times as Minister of Education. Duarte became one of the top allies of the Colorado Party politician Luis María Argaña, inheriting his political clout after his assassination in March 1999. Duarte was elected president in 2003, by a plurality of 37%, taking advantage of a three-way split in the opposition to the incumbent Colorado Party. Inaugurated at 46, Duarte was one of Paraguay's youngest presidents, as well as its first non-Catholic, being a Protestant convert.

Duarte's administration was marked by a rejection of the path his country and party had taken in the past decade, turning away from neoliberalism to instead embrace the pink tide and 21st century socialism. Overall, the Paraguayan economy grew during his tenure, mostly as part of a recovery from the crisis of the 1990s. His support of and from Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, as well as his proposal to amend the constitution to allow the reelection of the president, made large parts of the Paraguayan public see him as increasingly authoritarian, leading in part to the defeat of his protégé, Blanca Ovelar, in the 2008 election.

In said 2008 election Duarte was elected senator, but the Senate refused to swear him in, arguing that it would be unconstitutional, this happened again in 2018.

The financial investments that Itaipú's pension fund (Cajubi) made in Canada, known as "the robbery of the century", occurred between 2005 and 2008, during his presidential tenure and when his appointee, Victor Bernal Garay, was the director of Itaipú.

Nicanor promoted Blanca Ovelar's candidacy for the Colorado Party in the 2007 primary elections and the 2008 presidential election, positioning her as his successor.

According to major media outlets and other sources in Paraguay, Blanca Ovelar's campaigns were illicitly financed with money from Itaipu Binacional and its subsidiaries Cajubi and Tesai, with the involvement of Nicanor and his appointee, the Director General of Itaipu, Victor Bernal.

After leaving office Duarte served as Ambassador to Argentina from 2013 to 2016, under the presidency of Horacio Cartes. He was later appointed director of the Yacyretá Dam. Like all former presidents, Duarte currently holds the ceremonial and powerless title of Senator for life.

In January 2025, Judge Celia Salinas issued a final ruling awarding civil damages against the former directors of the Itaipu pension fund, Cajubi. Cajubi's lawyer, Rafael Fernández, told the media that Duarte was not investigated, supposedly "due to the complicit silence of the convicted former directors."