Horacio Cartes announced Tuesday, September 15, 2026, that Juan Carlos Baruja was the chosen name for the vice presidency on a ticket that would have Pedro Alliana as its presidential candidate in the 2028 general election. The statement was made during a meeting with leaders and candidates from Paraguarí at the headquarters of the National Republican Association (ANR), the Colorado Party.
Alliana, however, has not yet formalized the choice. In a statement released after Cartes spoke, the vice president said he would decide on and announce his running mate only after the October 4 municipal electoral process. “Until then, I will not give any name. I will not back down from this position,” he said. For now, the disagreement leaves it unclear whether Baruja will be officially confirmed.
The urban development, housing and habitat minister had already been identified as Alliana’s preferred choice. In July, the vice president said he would choose Baruja if he had to make an immediate decision, but also asked that the timetable for the decision be respected. Baruja was mayor and governor of Paraguarí between 2018 and 2023, and also served as agriculture minister.
Cartes’s announcement weakens the prospects of Raúl Latorre, president of the Chamber of Deputies, and César Sosa, governor of Guairá. The previous night, Latorre had received Colorado deputies and governors at his home in Asunción. According to the account of the meeting, the agenda included the municipal campaign and the 2028 scenario. Latorre said the focus was on the October election and that “there cannot be a 2028 without a 2026.”
Senator Silvio “Beto” Ovelar also called for the ticket contest to be suspended. He recalled the break between Nicanor Duarte Frutos and Luis Castiglioni before the Colorado Party’s defeat in 2008 and said that “this is not the time to talk about a ticket.” Natalicio Chase, leader of the Honor Colorado caucus—the faction of the Colorado Party led by Cartes—said three names had been presented internally: Baruja by the senators, Sosa by the governors and Latorre by the deputies. Chase said the decision would be Alliana’s.
The political maneuvering also appeared in the municipal campaign in Asunción. Arnoldo Wiens, from the Colorado Añetete movement, took part in a support event for Camilo Pérez, the Lista 1 candidate for mayor, organized by council candidate Hugo Ramírez. Wiens said his sector was at Pérez’s disposal and argued that efforts should remain within the official ticket. He compared unfulfilled campaign promises to “broken windows” that, when accumulated, destroy trust between citizens and authorities.
On the health agenda, the government and the National Medical Union (Sinamed) reached a preliminary agreement involving progressive pay increases and new affiliations. The negotiations took place amid a doctors’ strike, but the available information does not establish that the agreement was a direct consequence of the action. Raúl Latorre described the increase as the largest for the profession in more than a decade and called for structural reform of the system.
Opposition senator Rafael Filizzola attributed the understanding to union pressure and said doctors had gone 14 years without salary recognition. He also criticized changes at the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Institute (IPS), Paraguay’s institution responsible for social security and health services, warning that it could run out of resources to pay pensions. Chase, for his part, warned that the increase could trigger a “cascade” of demands and said the 2027 National General Budget could not accommodate increases for all sectors without cuts.
Regarding the Supreme Court, Chase denied that the caucus was discussing the replacement of justices. Latorre said he was unaware of any formal impeachment plan, while Representative Alejandro Aguilera, speaking personally, said there were “more than enough candidates” for a possible proceeding and criticized the court’s delay in ruling on constitutional challenges.