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| Mr Lugo's supporters, many of them poor peasants, gathered to protest against the trial |
Lawyers
representing Paraguay's left-wing President Fernando Lugo have begun his
defence in impeachment proceedings.
Mr Lugo,
who asked the Supreme Court to stop the trial, announced he was not going to
defend himself in person.
Both houses
of parliament voted on Thursday to begin impeachment proceedings over his
handling of clashes between farmers and police in which at least 17 people
died.
His 2008
election ended 61 years of rule by the right-wing Colorado party.
A vote is
expected at 16:30 (20:30 GMT), with a two-thirds majority need to remove Mr
Lugo from office.
The
impeachment trial is being held in the upper house of parliament, the Senate.
The two
main political parties, Colorado and Liberal, have put aside their differences
and voted in favour of the motion to begin the impeachment trial.
The
Liberals are part of Mr Lugo's ruling coalition.
The vote in
the House of Deputies was passed with an overwhelming 76-1 majority. Reports
suggest only five out of 45 senators support Mr Lugo, who has likened the
impeachment bid to a coup.
In an
appeal filed with Paraguay's Supreme Court on Friday, Mr Lugo's lawyers said
the proceedings do not ensure due process, and that the president should be
granted more time to prepare.
"The
president has been given fewer guarantees and fewer rights to defend himself
than someone with a traffic fine," one of Mr Lugo's lawyers, Adolfo
Ferreiro, told the AP news agency.
The
Senate's decision to schedule the trial for Friday gave Mr Lugo less than 24
hours to ready a defence.
A
centre-right legislator, Carlos Maria, denied allegations of
unconstitutionality. "There's nothing illegal here, there's no
constitutional rupture, no coup," he told AP.
Supporters
of Mr Lugo gathered amid tight security outside the National Congress building
in the capital Asuncion before the trial was due to start.
If Mr Lugo
is impeached, Vice-President Federico Franco would take over as president until
the end of Mr Lugo's five-year term in 2013.
There are
fears the vote could prompt violent street protests.
'Poor
performance'
The
impeachment motion accuses Mr Lugo of a "poor performance" during the
forced land eviction last Friday, in which seven police officers and at least
nine farmers were killed.
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| Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo says the impeachment move is tantamount to a coup |
Speaking on
national television on Thursday, Mr Lugo said he would not resign, but
"face the consequences" of the trial. He accused his opponents of
carrying out an "express coup d'etat".
The Union
of South American Nations has send an urgent mission of foreign ministers to
Paraguay to "ensure the right to defend democracy".
Ecuador's
President Rafael Correa warned that the regional bloc could invoke its
"democracy clause" to sever ties with Paraguay and even close its
borders if Mr Lugo is not tried according to "due process".
BBC
regional analyst Leonardo Rocha says South American countries are worried that
Mr Lugo, Paraguay's first left-wing president, is the victim of a political
trial by the Colorado party and other right-wing groups.
Land clashes
During the
clashes in eastern Canindeyu province that prompted the impeachment move, more
than 300 police officers tried to evict 150 landless farmers from an estate
owned by a wealthy businessman who is also a political opponent of Mr Lugo.
The eviction
escalated into violence and the farmers opened fire on the police.
The farmers
have argued the land was illegally taken during the 1954-1989 military rule of
Gen Alfredo Stroessner and distributed among his allies.
Land
disputes are not unusual in Paraguay, where a small fraction of the population
owns about 80% of the land.
Mr Lugo - a
former Catholic bishop who abandoned priesthood to enter politics - campaigned
for the needs of the poor.
Before
being elected in 2008, he promised land for some 87,000 landless families.
On
Wednesday, in an attempt to calm tensions over the incident, Mr Lugo said he
would open an investigation into what happened.
His term
ends in August 2013 and the next presidential elections are due in April of
that year.
Paraguay President Fernando Lugo recognises another son
Paraguay: Murder charges for farmers after land clash
Paraguay: Murder charges for farmers after land clash
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