Officials seek to block money transfers to Caapucú municipality

Caapucú’s administrative crisis has deepened into a dispute over public money, with Rubén Pedrozo asking Paraguay’s Comptroller General to block transfers to the municipality.

Pedrozo was elected by seven of the 12 municipal councillors to complete the current term. He argues that the transfer of royalties and other public compensation should be frozen to protect Caapucú residents’ money and prevent it from being squandered.

The request follows Gustavo Penayo’s reversal of his resignation. Penayo had stepped down in June to seek re-election, but changed course after failing to secure an allied replacement. According to the report, he continues to impose his will and has installed a parallel municipal council made up entirely of Cartista councillors while managing municipal resources.

The seven councillors who regard Pedrozo as interim mayor have pursued legal actions to stabilize the administration, but say they have received no positive result. With the Electoral Justice system responding slowly, they turned to the Comptroller General as an extreme measure. Pedrozo also asked for the preventive immobilization of municipal accounts at the National Development Bank.

He said the account freeze would prevent the funds from being used for political campaigning, noting that Gustavo Penayo’s brother, Ramón Penayo, is a candidate for mayor. Pedrozo separately accused Gustavo Penayo of retaliating against the seven councillors by withholding their allowances and representation expenses. He cited that alleged discrimination as another reason to block the transfers.