President Fernando Lugo of Paraguay, a former Catholic bishop, gave a declaration to the nation’s justice system that he would be willing to be subjected to a DNA test to prove that his is not the father of a child that is claimed to be his. On April 22, Benigna Leguizamón claims to be the putative mother of a child sired by the former prelate. Lugo claims, moreover, that he did not have sex with the claimant but that he is willing to have a DNA test done in Paraguay. However, the claimant mother is demanding that a test be conducted in a foreign jurisdiction.

Benigna Leguizamón claims that the second of her four children, all of whom were fathered outside of marriage, is the fruit of a sexual union between herself and Lugo. The child in question is a boy named Lucas Fernando who is now six years old. The child was allegedly conceived by Lugo and Leguizamón in San Pedro, the poorest region in one of the poorest countries in Latin America where Lugo had served as bishop.

Lugo has recognized paternity of another boy child, Guillermo Armindo, that he sired with Viviana Carrillo. The boy was born on May 4, 2007. This was five months after having renounced his office of bishop so as to enter the political arena. His request for laicization was not accepted by Pope Benedict XVI, and Lugo began his political campaign amid a swirl of controversy in the South American country ensconced between Argentina and Uruguay and Brazil.

Yet a third woman claims that Lugo has sired a child with her. The 39-year-old Hortensia Morán Amarilla told reporters on April 22 that she bore Lugo another son, Juan Pablo – who is named for Pope John Paul II. However, she is not apparently demanding support money for the one year old child.

Despite the Paraguayan leader’s apparent successes in fathering children, he has not been able to confirm other promises he made to the Paraguayan people during his election campaign one year ago when he promised significant land reforms and an end to government corruption.