A third woman came forward Wednesday claiming Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is the father of her child – a 16-month-old boy she named after Pope John Paul II.

The paternity claims have embarrassed the government and put opponents on the attack. But in Paraguay’s macho culture, political analysts say the idea that the former Catholic bishop has fathered multiple children may make him appear to be a strong leader.

The latest woman to claim a child with Lugo is Damiana Hortensia Moran Amarilla, 39, a divorcee with two adult children who said she met Lugo after he gave up his church leadership position. Unlike the two other women, she says she has no plans to sue the president.

Meanwhile, a Paraguayan newspaper reported that the first woman to come forward, his former parishioner Viviana Carrillo, 26, moved into the president’s home along with her 2-year-old, whom Lugo acknowledged is his son.
Benigna Leguizamon, an impoverished soap-seller who accused the president Monday of fathering her 6-year-old boy, filed a paternity suit in Ciudad del Este on Wednesday, asking for DNA tests.

Other women could come forward as well, according to one of Lugo’s former church colleagues.

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