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This article addresses the debate concerning the reasons for the emergence of revolutionary movements in Latin America in the post‐Cold War period. It uses the example of the Ejército del Pueblo Paraguayo (EPP, Paraguayan People's Army) to question the hypothesis by McClintock that, whereas political factors were the principal cause of such movements during the Cold War, economic factors have dominated since then. After reviewing the structural context in which the EPP emerged, as well as its history, strategy and ideology, the article offers a contemporary understanding of the insurgency, examines its relevance to the debate about the prospects for revolution in post‐Cold War Latin America and proposes a reformulation of McClintock's hypothesis.

Fernando Lugo's triumph in the Paraguayan presidential elections is historic, not only because it is the first time in the world that an ex-bishop has won a presidential election, but also because it marks the end of the Colorado Party's hegemony, after more than sixty years in power. After his victory, Lugo ratified his decision to renegotiate with Brazil the unjust contract of the Itaipú hydro-electrical plant and his willingness to increase taxes on the prosperous soy bean producers and improve the unequal distribution of the land. However, it will not be easy. Paraguay inherits serious development problems, while there is widespread lack of confidence in democracy and a corrupt and outdated political class. Furthermore, Lugo can count on little support in parliament and the predictable resistance of the Colorado Party which still controls a powerful system of client relationships. (Nueva Soc/GIGA)

La toma de posesión de Fernando Lugo como presidente de Paraguay marca un giro decisivo en la historia del país. En presencia de los presidentes de todos los miembros del Mercosur y de Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador y Venezuela, Fernando Lugo juró el 15 de agosto el cargo de presidente de Paraguay para el período 2008-2013. El protagonismo del presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, durante la ceremonia y con posterioridad a ésta aumentó la especulación sobre si Paraguay se uniría ahora a la alianza regional de naciones identificada con el "socialismo del siglo XXI". Semejante juicio resulta prematuro, dada la composición del Gabinete de Lugo y la escasa representación de la izquierda en el nuevo Congreso. Más bien, la apertura a Venezuela y a Bolivia debería entenderse en el contexto más general del distanciamiento de Paraguay de su ya duradera "diplomacia pendular" de cara a sus dos gigantes vecinos, Brasil y Argentina, más motivado por la exigencia de renegociar los principales contratos hidroeléctricos con esos dos países que por cuestiones de afinidad ideológica.

AbstractThis article addresses the extent to which concepts of 'partnership' and 'ownership' of aid are understood differently by donors and local partners even in a country such as Bolivia where central government underwent a growing commitment to improved governance from the mid‐1990s through poverty reduction, decentralisation and citizen participation. The introduction of two basket‐funding initiatives is testimony to the growing confidence of the donor community in the emerging national ownership of the overall development process. Yet informational and motivational asymmetries, by creating perverse incentives, militate against the spread of basket funding, undermining the shift to national ownership and sustainability. Similarly, even though relations with the donor community were excellent, sector‐level donor coordination is a surprisingly recent phenomenon. Government officials frequently reported the same kind of administrative burdens that are found in many other aid recipient countries. In addition, conditionalities of multilateral agencies embedded in structural adjustment and subsequent HIPC membership imposed a major burden on the government. They often caused delays in disbursements, especially where loans are disbursed in tranches subject to compliance with non‐project specific conditions. Finally, the article draws attention to the contested meaning of 'national ownership' itself in a country with marked ethnic and social divisions, a factor that contributed to a marked decline in political stability and other governance indicators in 2003. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.