“I can find more job satisfaction in Paraguay.” Song lyrics learned in one’s youth never leave one’s head.

There are snatches from the rock opera Evita which return to me at odd moments. Two weeks ago, I remembered one of the exchanges between the heroine, Evita, and her husband, the then strongman of Argentina, Juan Peron.

She was urging him to see out the political chaos into which the country was descending, assuring him that he was popular among the masses. He told her of his conspiracy fears. Then came the famous words: “I can find more job satisfaction in Paraguay.”

That was then. But now it is not that easy to have presidential job satisfaction in Paraguay.

A week ago, the President of Paraguay, Fernando Lugo, was impeached by the Senate, given only two hours to defend himself, and promptly voted out of office by a margin of 39 to four.

The reason, or pretext, was a clash between police and landless protestors, which saw 17 left dead. The Senate found Lugo guilty of poor performance of his duties.

His deputy, Federico Franco, became president in his stead. However, the presidents of Paraguay’s neighbours rejected the removal of Lugo from office. It was described as a politically motivated coup d’etat. They have announced various measures, of different degrees of strength, in retaliation.

For the moment, President Franco cannot have much job satisfaction, either. The strongest reaction came from Venezuela. Its president, Hugo Chavez, announced that his country will cut off oil shipments.

Cuba’s president, Raoul Castro, was blunt. He called the impeachment a barely disguised return to the Latin American coup d’etat’s of old. It should be remembered that Lugo’s 2008 electoral victory was the first time in Paraguay’s recent history that there was a peaceful handover of power.

Like Cuba and Venezuela, Argentina declared it would halt any diplomatic relations with the new government. Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, Chile and the regional giant, Brazil, have all recalled their ambassadors “for consultations”.

Not all countries believe the impeachment was a “congressional coup”. Even these countries are sending warning signals, though. The US announced it did not consider the event a coup but was watching matters closely.

Honduras said the impeachment was an internal matter, while Colombia recognized that Paraguay’s constitution did allow for the impeachment process. However, even these two countries said that Lugo was given far too little time to defend himself adequately.

Widespread economic sanctions do not appear to be on the cards. However, President Franco has been prevented from attending the Mercosur meeting to be held today in Argentina. Mercosur is the regional trade organisation.

Lugo was considering attending the meeting to put his case to regional leaders. He has since changed his mind as well as issued a statement urging that economic sanctions not be imposed on his country, for they would only hurt ordinary people.

And there lies the political issue that some say lies behind the impeachment. Indeed, it is claimed, even behind the police clash that led to the impeachment, since some say that clash was staged.  

Lugo is a former Catholic priest and bishop of the poorest diocese of the capital, Asuncion. His personal history over the last ten years has been colourful, with several women stepping forward claiming he had fathered their child, although he has only recognized two of them. Politically, however, he has been a stalwart champion of the poor.

For this alone, he has my political sympathy. My own short visit to Asuncion some years ago brought home to me one of the sharpest, most bitter contrasts between wealth and poverty.

One grand monument – a national hero on horseback with its identifying plinth destroyed – overlooked a moat into which drainage flowed. The Parliament building is magnificent but less than 200 yards away there were makeshift dwellings where naked children, addicts and prostitutes mingled. In the park, on broken benches, young women tried to catch my eye. Some were the same age as my daughter.

The Cathedral was almost barred, presumably for security. One boy washed rich men’s cars for a quarter. He told me that on a good day he washed six or seven but three or four on most days.

The next morning, driven to the airport at 4am, the taxi driver slammed his foot on the accelerator and ignored all the red lights in the empty streets. When I enquired why he was driving so recklessly, he replied that stopping at a red light was even more reckless. One risked being car-jacked! Over speeding was necessary because otherwise one could be blocked at the front by one car and rammed at the back by another.

If this is the country that Lugo was trying to transform and bring social justice to, then it is a bad signal that he has been ousted.

Latin America has made strong strides towards democracy over the last two decades. It would be a dangerous sign if democracy was weakened and undermined again.