Wednesday, March 24, 1999 Published at 16:01 GMT
Paraguay Senate asked to impeach president
An unexploded grenade lies next to the car in which Mr Argana was shot
Members of the lower house of Paraguay's parliament have voted to start impeachment proceedings against President Raul Cubas.
The deputies voted by 49 to 24 in favour of impeachment, alleging the misuse of public office.
The impeachment request will be considered by the upper house, the Senate, in an extraordinary session later on Wednesday.
The vote in the Chamber of Deputies took place one day after gunmen killed Paraguay's Vice-President, Luis Maria Argana.
Mr Argana had been the leader of an effort within the Colorado Party to oust the president. An impeachment vote had been scheduled for early April.
Supporters of Mr Argana immediately blamed the president and his allies for the murder.
In a nationwide address on Tuesday, the president pleaded for calm, and ordered the country's borders closed to initiate a search for Mr Argana's killers.
Members of the armed forces patrolled the streets, and the authorities suspended public transport for 24 hours.
Hundreds of Paraguayans, angered by the news of Mr Argana's killing, clashed with police late on Tuesday as they called for the president's resignation.
Paraguayan television showed anti-riot police dispersing rock-throwing demonstrators with truncheons and water cannons, as the angry mob defied a law banning demonstrations around the presidential office building.
Mr Argana's funeral is due to be held later on Wednesday.