Coronavirus in Paraguay: the pandemic is defeating …

The protests in Paraguay Friday night they drove to a police repression that left 18 injured in Asuncion. The demonstration he was called in rejection of the management of the pandemic by the government of Mario Abdo Benítez, in a context where almost no vaccine has reached the country. A few hours before the mobilization, he had formalized his the Minister of Health, Julio Mazzoleni, resigns and this morning the Paraguayan President He summoned all the members of his cabinet and asked them to make their posts available. Communication Minister Juan Manuel Brunetti announced that there would be changes to the list of ministers.

“Today he will speak to the public and he will announce the changes (of the ministers), we want them to know that the message of the citizens has reached the President of the Republic, we hope that this second term of government is good and we regain confidence, ”said the official quoted by local media.

The newspaper ABC color reported on a deceased, whom he identified as 32-year-old Alejandro Daniel Florentín, although the portal Today He said the death is not linked to the crackdown on protesters, but a police act in a house in the same area where the incidents took place. The head of public relations of the national police, Elena Andrada, also assured that the deceased was not linked to the demonstration.

Protesters arrived at the door of the National Congress to demand the resignation of Abdo Benítez. The demonstration was broadcast on social networks under the slogan “I am for the Paraguayan march of March 2021”, a slogan referring to the Paraguayan march of 1999 (the month in which Vice-President Luis María Argaña was assassinated and President Raúl Cubas Grau has resigned). They walked shouting “Out, Marito!” Amid questions about the management of the pandemic which led to the resignation of the Minister of Health, Julio Mazzoleni, yesterday. The protests were replicated in Alto Paraná, Ciudad del Este, Itapúa and Aguaray.

The the demonstration ended with repression. There were demonstrators who responded to the actions of the police with rubble and stones. The crowd dispersed through several streets in the city center, shouting against the government of Abdo Benítez.

For his part, Interior Minister Arnaldo Giuzzio told local media that the president expressed his concern over the clashes and assured that the violence was caused by a group that was not part of the protesters. The opposition, on the other hand, held the president responsible and said there were reasons to promote a political trial “for the poor performance of his duties.”.

Among the controversies surrounding the administration of government, there is lack of drugs and supplies in hospitals to treat coronavirus patients. This week, the Paraguayan Association of Nurses demanded from the government the rapid acquisition of supplies and medicines, and the Paraguayan Circle of Physicians estimated that a total quarantine should be organized in the face of the unsustainable state of public services.

In Paraguay there is delay in the arrival of vaccines. At present, 4000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine have already been applied, but only to health workers. In a country of seven million people there are 160 thousand infected and 3200 dead. The cases have intensified in recent weeks, causing an overflow of health centers and highlighting the weakness of the health network.

The possibility of impeachment

Friday’s events could have major political implications. The opposition Liberal Party and a faction of the ruling Colorado party led by former president Horacio Cartes (predecessor of Abdo Benítez in office), expressed their intention to remove the president.

The Liberals have spoken of a “shameful, brutal and arbitrary crackdown”. In a statement, they said a political position would emerge from an upcoming meeting.

Abdo Benítez was already close to indictment in August 2019, when he had barely been in charge of the country for a year. It was through a secret act with Brazil to buy power from the Itaipu dam, shared by the two countries. He avoided impeachment thanks to the support of Cartes, his internal rival.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people remain outside the police headquarters, on the perimeter of Congress, demanding to speak with the police officer to explain who ordered the dispersal of the demonstrators.