Mario Abdo Benítez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaɾjo ˈaβðo βeˈnites]; born 10 November 1971)[1][2] is a Paraguayan politician who served as the 51st president of Paraguay from 2018 to 2023.

[7][8] His father was a member of the so-called "Cuatrinomio de Oro", four of the politicians who were deemed to be closest to then-President Alfredo Stroessner, who ruled Paraguay for 35 years.

[11] The fortune Abdo Benítez owns was inherited from his father, who after the fall of the dictatorship was prosecuted for illicit enrichment, but the case was eventually dismissed.

[11] Abdo Benítez has stated that while he believes that Stroessner "did a lot for the country", he also clarified that he does not condone the violations of human rights, torture and persecution committed during the regime.

[11][13][14] In December 2017, Abdo Benítez won the Colorado Party presidential primaries by defeating former Minister of Finance Santiago Peña with 564,811 votes (50.93%) to 480,114 (43.29%).

[16][3] At 46 years of age Benítez became, by a mere month's margin to Nicanor Duarte, the youngest President of Paraguay since Alfredo Stroessner, at 41, assumed power in 1954.

[19] In mid-2019, he faced the possibility of an impeachment procedure for having signed an agreement with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on the Itaipu Dam, which was considered to be clearly unfavourable for Paraguay.

[32] Benítez was awarded the Order of Brilliant Jade with Grand Cordon by President of the Republic of China Tsai Ing-wen on 8 October 2018.