ASUNCION, Paraguay, July 17 (UPI) -- Paraguay's president told his detractors Wednesday that he would not step down before next year's presidential election despite protests this week calling for his resignation that left two people dead, dozens wounded and hundreds arrested.
"I want to make it clear once and for all: I will only hand over power to whoever wins the democratic elections in 2003," President Luis Gonzalez Macchi proclaimed on Paraguayan television Wednesday. "I will never allow inciting groups who challenge the democratic process through violence to take power."
Macchi's attempt to brush off criticism and calls for him to step down coincided with his surprise decision to lift a temporary suspension of some civil rights, a move that prohibited protests and gave police authority to conduct random search and seizures, as well as arrests.
The suspension was scheduled to last for five days, though it ended after only two.
While there were no reported incidents Wednesday of violence related to this week's protests, experts said Paraguayans were likely to take to the streets again.
Demonstrations first erupted Monday, prompting clashes between police and protesters in the capital, Asuncion, and throughout the country, who demanded Macchi's resignation and action by the Paraguayan government to curb the country's downward spiral into financial despair.
Tuesday, an estimated 160 people were arrested by authorities in Ciudad del Este, a city located on the country's border with Brazil.
Landlocked and sharing a border with Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, South America's poorest nation has been suffering from months of economic strife, as have its neighbors.
Earlier this week, Macchi and his supporters accused former army general and supreme military leader Lino Oviedo, currently in exile in Brazil, of orchestrating the protests.
Paraguay has asked Brazil to hand over Oviedo to its authorities in Asuncion.
The former military leader appeared before the Ministry of Justice's Department of Foreigners to defend himself against accusations that he played a hand in the protests. Many demonstrators called for his return in an effort to oust Macchi.
Paraguay's officials said Oviedo cannot continue his alleged activities with impunity under the protection of the Brazilian government. Asuncion claims that the general first began plotting this recent uprising some six months ago.
Tuesday, the Paraguayan embassy in Brasilia reportedly sent a tape to Brazil's Ministry of Justice that shows Oviedo conversing with supporters. While the exact contents of the tape remain unknown, Paraguayan officials are using the tape as a basis for their request for Oviedo's extradition.
Brazil's Minister of Justice Paulo de Tarso Ribeiro assured Paraguay Wednesday that "Brazil will not permit its territory to be used as a base for activities which destabilize a friendly government in a neighboring country."
Oviedo has vehemently denied the accusations, though his testimony before the Department of Foreigners has not been released.
Before his meeting with Brazilian authorities Oviedo said he was "feeling very confident that he would remain in Brazil."
"I love this country and these people," said Oviedo, reported Jornal do Brasil.
In addition to organizing this week's protests, Paraguayan authorities have accused Oviedo of orchestrating the 1999 assassination of former Paraguayan Vice President Luis Argana. The general is wanted for questioning in connection with the case.
Macchi, a former senator, assumed power after Argana's killing forced then-president Raul Cubas to resign, following several days of deadly protests.
Oviedo also is accused of organizing several coup attempts since 1996 for which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a sentence he has never served.
