Paraguay leader should take paternity test

Lugo served as a bishop until 2005, and left the church in 2007 to run in presidential elections.

Paraguay's President Fernando Lugo, a former bishop, should take a paternity test to end speculation about whether he fathered several children, the women's affairs minister said Monday.

Minister Gloria Rubin called on Lugo to take a DNA test and put an end to the scandal that has already seen the president admit he is the father of a two-year-old child.

- He should submit to a DNA test to set an example for Paraguayan men - Rubin said.

- I can't tell the president what to do. I'm not his advisor, but I put myself on the side of all the women - added Rubin, the former leader of an influential women's rights group.

On April 13, Luga admitted he had fathered a child with Viviana Carrillo, 25, sparking an enormous scandal in a country where 90 percent of the population is Catholic.

Since then, courts have agreed to examine paternity claims by two other women, including Benigna Leguizamon, a former house cleaner at the San Pedro diocese where Lugo served as a bishop. The two women's children are six and two years old.

Leguizamon's claim has been held up because Lugo in June refused to leave the capital to submit a blood sample, arguing he was too busy carrying out his presidential duties.

- This situation weighs on me - Rubin said, who said Lugo's refusal to take the paternity test would only exacerbate the situation.

- If they are his children, he should recognize them, and if not, we will finally know the results. It's the most sensible route for all involved - she told journalists.

Lugo served as a bishop until 2005, and left the church in 2007 to run in presidential elections.

In 2008, standing as a leftist candidate, he won the vote and ended 61 years of conservative party rule.