Federico Franco sworn-in as new Paraguayan president

Paraguayan vice-president Federico Franco was sworn-in as president following Fernando Lugo’s impeachment, which was voted by the Senate by 39 votes in favour this afternoon.

Little over an hour after Lugo’s removal from power was voted from Congress, Franco was sworn in as the new Head of State, a post he will hold until the April 21st 2013 Paraguayan presidential elections.

“ I haven’t agreed with many of president Lugo’s decision because I was elected, just like him, on April 20th 2008 to administrate a country but he has ignored me,” Franco, a 49 year old cardiologist said last Thursday, right before the Paraguayan congress decided to impeach Lugo.

Franco is married to lawmaker Emilia Alfaro of the Liberal Radical Authentic Party (PLRA), with whom he has four children. He was the Governor of the Central area between 2003 and 2008 representing the PLRA,