Esperanza Martínez opposes rushed review of 2027 budget in bicameral committee

Esperanza Martínez wants her opposition to the 2027 budget timetable formally recorded after the first session of Paraguay’s Bicameral Committee. The senator said Congress has too little time to examine requests from a large number of public institutions.

Her objection came after Economy and Finance Minister Óscar Lovera presented the draft National General Budget for 2027. Under the schedule, hearings with public institutions are due to resume on Monday, September 14. Martínez criticized the plan for concentrating several institutions into only a few working days.

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I oppose this schedule, with very few days and too many institutions.

“I oppose this schedule, with very few days and too many institutions,” she said. She also warned that the electoral context could affect the attendance of both lawmakers and summoned officials. In her view, Congress needs to study each institution’s accounts in greater detail before deciding on the budget requests.

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I do not think it is right to devote so little time to studying so many institutions.

“I do not think it is right to devote so little time to studying so many institutions,” Martínez said. She also questioned the participation of some committee members, citing previous cases in which lawmakers registered to join parliamentary bodies but later failed to attend meetings.

Cristina Villalba, the committee’s chair in the Chamber of Deputies, defended the process and said the review would be carried out responsibly. “We will address each and every ministry with great responsibility,” she said. The committee is responsible for examining the 2027 budget proposal before it goes to the full Congress. Five institutions and sectors are scheduled for hearings on September 14.

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We will address each and every ministry with great responsibility.