Giving in to doctors’ demands could “turn an exception into the rule,” Finance Ministry warns

Paraguay’s Finance Ministry is refusing to give ground to doctors demanding a 76% salary increase, warning that one concession could open the way for a flood of similar requests. Minister Óscar Lovera called the current election period an “abnormal” year and said granting the medical sector’s demand could “turn an exception into the rule.”

The public health sector, led by medical unions, is seeking a 76% increase in current pay. Teachers are also pressing for higher salaries, with a demand for an 8% raise and threats of new demonstrations and school stoppages.

In an interview with 1020 AM, Lovera said these demands were neither isolated nor new. He argued that the third year of a government is often the most difficult because pressure intensifies around elections. Municipal elections are one month away, while internal party elections are scheduled for 2027 to choose presidential candidates ahead of the 2028 general election.

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Turn an exception into the rule.

Lovera pointed to 2012, during Fernando Lugo’s government, when broad 30% salary increases were approved amid electoral pressure. He said the measures caused serious damage to public finances. Salaries rose from absorbing 46.1% of tax revenue to 86%, while the current ratio of central government payroll costs to collected taxes stands at about 63%.

The minister said the 2012 increase created a permanent financial impact of $800 million, not merely a one-year expense. He also said its effects were felt in gross domestic product and government accounts, which moved from surplus into deficit. The article ends while introducing a proposed career-scale system for medical workers.

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It meant a financial impact of US$800 million, and not for one year. It was a permanent expense.