New president takes over in Paraguay, vows to cut poverty
ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Mario Abdo Benitez took over as Paraguay's new president on Wednesday, replacing a seemingly disgruntled Horacio Cartes, who left the inauguration ceremony before it finished.
Abdo Benitez, 46, promised to combat poverty and entrenched corruption, and urged Paraguayans to "look toward the future and not remain stuck in the past" as he took the oath of office to start a five-year term
The marketing expert campaigned to continue Cartes' business-friendly policies and played down fears of a return to the heavy-handed past of dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who ruled from 1954 to 1989. Abdo Benitez's father was Stroessner's private secretary.