ASUNCION  - Paraguay's House of Representatives backed a surprise measure Thursday to impeach President Fernando Lugo for "poor performance of his duties" after deadly clashes to evict landless peasants. The move was approved by 76 votes, with only one lawmaker voting against. A violent confrontation on Friday left at least six police officers and 11 peasant farmers dead when Lugo's security forces tried to remove squatters from a privately-held farm in the country's northeast. But Lugo fought back, saying in a national address: "I refuse to renounce my functions and vow to abide by the political process with all its consequences."He said the people's will is "under relentless attack by groups that are always opposed to change so that the people are the protagonists of democracy."Lugo also accused his opponents of trying to "rob the people of their supreme decision" when they elected him to a five-year term in 2008.But presidential secretary general Miguel Lopez said Lugo "hopes that the time required to prepare his defense will be respected."Lugo spokesman Ruben Penayo earlier said "the president will, as always, respect the institutions of the state."The landlocked South American nation relies heavily on agriculture, and is one of the world's leading soy producers. But territorial disputes are not uncommon with two percent of the people owning 80 percent of the land.Most of those living in rural areas earn their livelihoods by subsistence farming, but the economy has grown with the rising price of commodities.