Programs and Events
U.S. Elections Night Event in Paraguay
November 5, 2008
On Tuesday night, November 4th, the U.S. Embassy in Asuncion and the Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano (CCPA) hosted a “U.S. Elections Night 2008” at the CCPA Villa Mora branch.
Over one thousand guests were invited from different sectors including Paraguayan Government representatives, including Vice President Federico Franco, American citizens, teachers and professors, members of the
press, representatives of the business community, diplomatic corps, and many other friends of the U.S. Embassy.
During the event, media coverage of the U.S. Elections from key international and Paraguayan television stations was shown on gigantic screens. Feeds from various Internet websites containing the latest information were also shown. Paraguayan guests participated in a mock election to vote for their favorite U.S. presidential candidates.
U.S. Elections Night 2008 was a celebration of democracy and was held in a fun open manner. This contributed to recreating the festive environment that millions of American citizens were experiencing on the same night in the United States.
Barack Obama wins the U.S. Presidency and makes history
Senator Barack Obama experienced a meteoric rise within the political U.S. political arena being elected to President of the United States of America after only fours years ago being virtually unknown to the majority of Americans. President-elect Obama won the U.S. Presidential elections by beating the Republican candidate in various traditionally “red” states, redesigning the political map. Besides gaining a clear victory in the Electoral College, President-elect Obama received the majority of the U.S. popular vote.
Through this election, Barack Obama becomes the first African-American in U.S. history to be elected President of the United States of America. On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.
McCain cedes victory to Obama
In a speech given on November 5, 2008, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain congratulated Barack Obama on his electoral victory. McCain gave recognition to the historic value of this election win. The opening lines of his speech recognized the American voters’ will by stating, “The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly”.