The Paraguayan vote from abroad as part of the democratic process

Abstract

Three decades after the beginning of the democratization process in Paraguay, multiple political rights are still curtailed or restricted for Paraguayan citizens; such is the case of the right to vote from abroad, a fundamental political feature for democratic regimes in the current context of the globalization process. The paper describes the legal-political process that introduced the formal right of Paraguayans to vote from abroad in national elections, as a consequence of the first amendment of the Paraguayan Constitution, in 2011. In that year, the right to vote of Paraguayans residing outside their country was officially recognized with the publication of decree 7.671 of the Executive Branch. The entry into force of this political right has so far resulted in two experiences, in the electoral processes of 2013 and 2018, allowing Paraguayans residing in Argentina, Spain, the United States and Brazil to vote through polling stations in some of the main cities. The quantitative and qualitative impact of the vote from abroad in these two elections is also analyzed, as well as the transformations and consequences that this fact has on the Paraguayan electoral process, considering the high emigration rate of the country which could possibly have, in the medium or long term, a decisive influence in the results of the national elections; the work also addresses the factors that affect the participation of this emigration, establishing hypotheses about the impact it could have in future elections.