Cubas says he's resigning to avoid more bloodshed

March 28, 1999
Web posted at: 10:06 p.m. EST (0306 GMT)

ASUNCION, Paraguay (CNN) -- Saying he would "not be responsible for the spilling of any more blood for questions of politics," Paraguayan President Raul Cubas resigned Sunday, defusing a crisis that threatened the country's 10-year-old democracy.

The president of the Senate, Luis Gonzalez Macchi, will take over the presidency of the landlocked South American nation. He was carried into the parliament building in Asuncion on the shoulders of supporters.

Cubas' departure came a day before the Senate was to reconvene his impeachment trial. He had been impeached by the House on Wednesday, a day after his vice president and political rival, Luis Maria Argana, was assassinated.

After Cubas' resignation was announced, more than 50,000 people crowded in front of the pink parliament building, waving Paraguayan flags and sending fireworks bursting into the sky.

Cars jammed the streets, honking horns, while people wept, cheered and hugged each other. Firefighters poured streams of water over the sweaty, joyous crowds.

The celebration was in marked contrast to the scene late Friday, when police used water cannons and tear gas to break up a violent confrontation between pro- and anti-Cubas demonstrators. At least four people died, and more than 100 wer e injured in the melee.

Cubas' resignation and the installation of Gonzalez Macchi brought a feeling of relief and an apparent resolution of the crisis.

"This is a great victory for democracy," said Sen. Armando Espinola. "The blood of our youth has not been spilled in vain."

Cubas: 'History will judge me'

Reading from a statement with his wife and a dozen aides at his side, Cubas said he lamented the violence and asked for the forgiveness of all Paraguayans who voted for him.

"I am not going because I am corrupt or a thief. I am going because my exit may help to pacify the country. History will judge me," he said.

Cubas was elected last year on a platform of ending corruption, easing unemployment and solving the country's economic problems. But his decision to free former Gen. Lino Oviedo from prison triggered an erosion in support.

Oviedo was serving a 10-year prison sentence for leading an unsuccessful coup against then-President Juan Carlos Wasmosy in 1996. The decision to free him caused a spilt in the ruling Colorado Party between supporters of Oviedo and Cubas and those loyal to Argana.

The political chaos escalated Tuesday, when Argana was slain. No one has been arrested in his murder. Both Cubas and Oviedo deny any role in the killing.

Gonzalez Macchi said that after being sworn in, he would return Oviedo to prison. But local radio reported that Oviedo had fled the country by plane just before news emerged that Cubas had quit.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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