ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo fired his military chiefs Wednesday, a day after denying he had worries about a coup amid calls for his impeachment.
In a statement given to journalists at the presidential palace, Lugo named new commanders for the army, air force and navy without explaining his reasons. The new chiefs will assume their posts Thursday, said the statement signed by the president.
There was no immediate reaction from the military or from the political opposition, which controls Congress.
The new military commanders must be approved by the Senate, but Lugo had not yet submitted a formal request.
The shuffling in the military command came only one day after Lugo, a left-leaning former Roman Catholic bishop, publicly dismissed speculation about a possible coup as he struggles with Congress over implementing economic and social reforms.
"I can ensure you as commander in chief of the armed forces that, institutionally, there is no danger of a military coup," he said Tuesday. "There could be small military groups that are connected to or could be used by the political class, but institutionally, the military does not show any intent of reversing the process of democratic consolidation."
Since winning the presidency last year and ending 61 years of domination by the conservative Colorado Party, Lugo has been trying to push reforms that would benefit Paraguay's numerous poor.
He has criticized an elite class that "sits comfortably in air-conditioned offices," while the poor "survive on just one meal a day if they are lucky ... without safe drinking water, surrounded by misery."
Lugo's rivals have been searching for ways to force him about of office before his term ends in August 2013.
Last week, a majority of lawmakers threatened to mount an impeachment trial over comments he allegedly made in a poor neighborhood that some interpreted as a call for class warfare. Lugo denied saying that.
Amid his troubles with the opposition, Lugo also drawn criticism from some supporters who are becoming disillusioned by his failure to find ways of using to overcome the opposition.
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