Duarte sworn in as new president in Paraguay

ASUNCION, Aug 15 (AFP) - Nicanor Duarte was sworn in as the new president of Paraguay on Friday, facing tough challenges from jump-starting the economy to bolstering public trust eroded by recent corruption cases.

"Starting today, (honesty) once again will be the watchword for the government," the new president told a crowd of about 5,000 outside Congress.

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"There will be concessions for no one, and even less so for the privileged who enrich themselves illegally," he said.

"We cannot continue to allow Justice to shut its eyes to the weak and wink at the wealthy. It is unfair that such scandalous inequity continues."

Outgoing president Luis Gonzalez Macchi acknowledged his mandate came up short on economic and social progress. He is facing charges for allegedly skimming 16 million dollars in public funds and depositing them in an account at Citibank in New York.

Duarte, 46, who won Paraguay's April 27 election, has belonged since the age of 14 to the Colorado Party, which has run the country since 1947.

The son of a police chief and a school teacher, Duarte studied law and political science in Asuncion in the 1970s, going on to work as a reporter, political columnist and university teacher.

Duarte was appointed vice minister of education at an early age in the 1989-1993 post-Alfredo Stroessner government of General Andres Rodriguez, later rising to education minister in the 1993-1998 government of president Juan Carlos Wasmosy.

Under his guidance, Guarani -- an indigenous, official language along with Spanish -- was incorporated into the school curriculum in this largely rural South American country of 5.5 million people.

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Paraguay