ASUNCION, Paraguay -- Paraguay's president grudgingly prepared a defense against abuse of power charges in the Senate and criticized the impeachment process that has become a test of Paraguay's 10-year-old democracy.
President Raul Cubas told reporters that "false congressmen" had "violated the constitution."He is accused of abusing his powers by freeing former army chief Lino Oviedo, his ally and mentor. Oviedo was released from jail in August, just months after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempting to oust then-President Juan Wasmosy in 1996.
The impeachment was originally scheduled for April 7, but Congress decided to proceed after the assassination Tuesday of Vice President Luis Argana. Argana was killed when three men opened fire on his car as he rode to work.
The killers remain at large, but Cubas and Oviedo have been widely blamed for the assassination of Argana, a political foe whom they defeated in the Colorado Party primary last year.
Pro-impeachment demonstrators, holding an all-night vigil in front of the Congress building, clashed with Cubas supporters throwing rocks. Police intervened with water cannon to break up the scuffle.
In a tense four-hour session Thursday, senators read opening statements and laid out the accusations that could lead to Cubas' removal from office.
The Supreme Court also ordered Cubas to send Oviedo back to prison, but the president refused, despite pressure from members of the Colorado Party.
On Wednesday, the lower house of Congress voted overwhelmingly to impeach Cubas, a vote that set up the Senate trial Thursday.
It wasn't clear when the Senate would vote or if a guilty verdict would automatically force him from office.
Paraguay, which returned to democracy in 1989 after 35 years of military dictatorship, is struggling with political infighting, a deepening economic crisis and rising unemployment.