The Diplomat
King Felipe VI met on Monday in Paraguay with the outgoing President, Mario Abdo, and with the incoming President, Santiago Peña, during his first day in Asunción to attend Peña’s inauguration, which took place yesterday at the Palacio de López, the seat of the Paraguayan Head of State.
Don Felipe, who was accompanied by the Secretary of State for Latin America, the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Juan Fernández Trigo, arrived on Monday at Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, where he was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Paraguay, Julio César Arriola; the Spanish Ambassador to the Republic of Paraguay, Carmen Castiella; and by the Director General of Protocol of the Republic of Paraguay, Fernando Acosta.
Don Felipe then went to the Lopez Palace where he held a meeting with the outgoing President, Mario Abdo, together with the Spanish and Paraguayan delegations. His Majesty then went to the residence of President-elect Santiago Peña, with whom he also held a meeting.
Finally, the King took part in the informal dinner hosted by President Mario Abdo in honour of the heads of state attending the inauguration, which was also attended by the presidents of Argentina, Alberto Fernández; Brazil, Lula da Silva; Uruguay, Luis Lacalle; and Chile, Gabriel Boric.
Yesterday, Felipe VI attended the Solemn Ceremony of the Presidential Inauguration at the Lopez Palace, which was followed by the greeting of the Heads of State and their delegations to the new President and the First Lady of the Republic of Paraguay, Leticia Ocampos.
Afterwards, Don Felipe received in audience, in the chancellery of the Spanish Embassy, a representation of the Spanish community residing in the Republic of Paraguay.
In the afternoon, the King attended a lunch hosted by Santiago Peña, after which he returned to Spain.
His Majesty the King represents Spain at the inaugurations of Ibero-American presidents, a task that Don Felipe has been taking on since 1996 as Prince of Asturias.
Santiago Peña Palacios (Asunción, 16 November 1978) is a Paraguayan economist and politician, President-elect of Paraguay after winning the 2023 general elections. A member of the Honor Colorado movement of the Colorado Party, he is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), and former Minister of Finance of the Republic of Paraguay. He was previously a pre-candidate for the presidency in the 2017 internal elections of the Colorado Party, obtaining 482,649 votes, below Mario Abdo Benítez who obtained 567,592 votes.
