Lino César Oviedo Silva (23 September 1943 – 2 February 2013) was the leader of the

National Union of Ethical Citizens The National Union of Ethical Citizens ( es, Unión Nacional de Ciudadanos Éticos, UNACE) is a right-wing populist political party in Paraguay. History The party was established in 2002, although its predecessor, the ''Unión Nacional de Color ...

, which split from the Colorado Party in 2002.

Life and work

Early career

Oviedo was born in poverty in the town of

Juan de Mena Juan de Mena (1411–1456) was one of the most significant Spanish poets of the fifteenth century. He was highly regarded at the court of Juan II de Castilla, who appointed him ''veinticuatro'' (one of twenty-four aldermen) of Córdoba, ''sec ...

(

Cordillera Department Cordillera () is a department in Paraguay. The capital is the city of Caacupé. History During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries this area of the country was going through a serious crisis due to population bellicosity of the Indians f ...

) on September 23, 1943. He chose a military career, studied in Germany and eventually became a close aide to General

Andrés Rodríguez Andrés Rodríguez may refer to: * Andrés Rodríguez (politician) (1923–1997), president of Paraguay * Andrés Rodríguez (basketball) (born 1981), basketball player from Puerto Rico *Andres Rodriguez (show jumper) Andres Rodríguez (11 May ...

. He was named chief of the Army in 1993. When President

Juan Carlos Wasmosy Juan Carlos Wasmosy Monti (born December 15, 1938) was the president of Paraguay from August 15, 1992 until August 15, 1998. He was a member of the Colorado Party, and the country's first freely elected president, as well as the first civilian ...

asked him to step down from that position in April 1996, he allegedly refused and threatened a coup d'etat. After days of tension, Wasmosy offered him the Defence Ministry instead, but when Oviedo went to the presidential palace to take the oath, dressed in civilian clothes, the President, backed by popular demonstrations, withdrew the offer. Ousted from the military, he concentrated in winning the ruling Colorado Party's candidacy for the 1998 presidential elections, and succeeded by presenting a populist platform through his great rhetorical skills. A month before the national elections, and while leading the polls, he was finally condemned to a ten-year prison term for his 1996 military mutiny. His running mate

Raúl Cubas Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

continued the campaign and eventually won the elections, largely based on the promise to free Oviedo, which in fact he did days after taking office, over the protest of the Paraguayan Supreme Court and opposition leaders. In March 1999, vice president

Luis María Argaña Luis María del Corazón de Jesús Dionisio Argaña Ferraro (October 3, 1932 – March 23, 1999) was a prominent Paraguayan politician and Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay, Supreme Court judge. He was an influential member of the Color ...

, a key political enemy of both Oviedo and President Cubas, was assassinated. In the midst of riots and political turmoil known as ''

Marzo paraguayo The ''Marzo paraguayo'' ("Paraguayan March") was a political crisis that occurred in Paraguay because of the assassination of the then-Vice President of Paraguay, Vice President Luis María Argaña on 23 March 1999. The opposition blamed the th ...

'' ("Paraguayan March"), Cubas resigned, abandoning Oviedo, who fled into exile, first in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and then in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Imprisonment and release (2004-2007)

On June 28, 2004, he returned to

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and was detained by the police, who took him to the Military Prison of Viñas Cué, located a short distance from

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

. Initially sentenced to a ten-year term, he was released on parole for good behavior on 6 September 2007. In November 2006, a Paraguayan man, Tomás Velázquez, held a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

before he

crucified Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

himself publicly as a protest in

. He maintained that Oviedo was the target of political persecution and that the

military tribunal Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...

that convicted him for his alleged participation in a subversive plot was

illegal Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body. Illegal may also refer to: Law * Violation of law * Crime, the practice of breaking the ...

according to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, as it had been conducted in time of peace. On 30 October 2007, Oviedo's conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court"Paraguayan High Court Annuls Former General's Coup Conviction"
VOA News, October 31, 2007.Bill Faries
"Paraguay's Oviedo Cleared to Run for Presidency, Nacion Says"
Bloomberg.com, October 31, 2007. in an eight to one decision following testimony from former officers that there had been no coup attempt. The ruling left Oviedo free to run in the April 2008 presidential election.

Later political career

In January 2008 he was nominated as the candidate of his party, the

(UNACE), without opposition. He lost the 2008 Paraguayan presidential election, to

Fernando Lugo Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez (; born 30 May 1951) is a Paraguayan politician and laicized Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously he was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop, serving as Bishop of the Diocese ...

getting 22.8% of votes. Lino Oviedo's similarly-named nephew,

Lino César Oviedo Sánchez Lino César Oviedo Sánchez is a Paraguayan politician. He is a member of the Senate of Paraguay for the National Union of Ethical Citizens (UNACE) since 2008. He is the nephew of Lino César Oviedo Silva, usually known as Lino Oviedo Lino Cés ...

, has been a member of the

Senate of Paraguay The Chamber of Senators of Paraguay (''Cámara de Senadores''), the upper house of the National Congress, has 45 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation. The Paraguayan bicameral legislature, which included the Sen ...

for UNACE since 2008.

Death

On the night of 2 February 2013, Lino Cesar Oviedo died in a helicopter accident near

Puerto Antequera Antequera is a district of the San Pedro Department, Paraguay with Puerto Antequera the main location at the Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river i ...

, in the Chaco region. He was flying back to Asunción after an electoral rally held in the city of Concepción. His death was confirmed the following day by a national police rescue team. '' Última Hora'', 3 February 2013
Falleció Lino Oviedo en accidente de helicóptero en el Chaco
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oviedo, Lino 1943 births 2013 deaths People from Cordillera Department Paraguayan people of Spanish descent Colorado Party (Paraguay) politicians National Union of Ethical Citizens politicians Paraguayan generals Paraguayan politicians convicted of crimes Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Paraguay Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents