page_title: Mario Abdo Benítez
section_title: Domestic policy
hierarchical_section_title: Mario Abdo Benítez / Presidency / Domestic policy
caption_attribution_description: President Donald J. Trump participates in an expanded bilateral meeting with Paraguay President Mario Abdo Benitez Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, in the Oval office of the White House. (Official White House Photos by Joyce N. Boghosian)
context_page_description: Mario Abdo Benítez, nicknamed "Marito", is a Paraguayan politician who is the President of Paraguay.
  He also was President of the Senate.
context_section_description: He supported the reform of the judicial system, considered corrupt. Like his opponent at the elections Alegre, he opposes the legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage, though he stated to be "open" to a "debate" on abortion.
  In mid-2019, he faced the possibility of an impeachment procedure for having signed an agreement with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on the Itaipu Dam, which was considered to be clearly unfavourable for Paraguay. He finally had this agreement cancelled, defusing the impeachment process.
  On economic issues, Abdo Benitez's government continues the policy pursued for a century in favor of large landowners. Abdo Benitez's government designed a tax reform that was approved by Congress in September 2019. In 2019, the Paraguayan economy went into recession.
  One year after taking office, the government has experienced a high rate of disapproval of its management (69.3% in August 2019). As a result, the phrase "Desastre ko Marito" (a mixture of Guarani and Spanish roughly meaning "Marito is a disaster") became widespread in use, spawning merchandising. Abdo Benítez has jokingly referenced the phrase on occasion.
caption: U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Paraguayan President Abdo Benítez in December 2019.
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