News of Santiago Pena's election victory in Paraguay will be cheered by officials in Taiwan, which faces an uphill battle against China's economic muscle to keep its remaining 13 allies worldwide, including its last in South America.
Pena, who scored a sizeable win in Sunday's presidential ballot, pledged throughout the election campaign to defend Paraguay's almost 70-year diplomatic relations with democratically ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own.
Opposition rival Efrain Alegre, however, indicated his preference would be to switch ties to China to gain access to the country's huge markets for Paraguay's soy and beef farmers, the main drivers of its exports and economy.