DistantNews
Support us
Paraguay business leaders value economic progress but demand faster reforms
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Economy & Trade

Paraguay business leaders value economic progress but demand faster reforms

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Paraguayan business leaders acknowledged economic progress reported by President Santiago Peña but urged a focus on pending structural reforms, bureaucracy reduction, and legal certainty to attract investment.
  • Business representatives highlighted achievements like promoting the country's image and sovereign debt positioning, while also noting that the president's report downplayed challenges such as economic formalization and infrastructure needs.
  • They emphasized the need for increased revenue through formalization and ensuring government spending prioritizes investment over current expenses, alongside pushing for legislative changes to avoid populism in election years.

Paraguayan business leaders have acknowledged the economic strides highlighted by President Santiago Peña in his third-year management report to Congress. However, they insist that the second half of his term must prioritize executing pending structural reforms, tackling bureaucracy, and bolstering legal certainty to attract further investment.

From the CNCSP, we are convinced that the formalization of the entire economy is the great challenge.

— Estebán Dos SantosPresident of the National Chamber of Commerce and Services of Paraguay (CNCSP), commenting on the country's economic challenges.

Estebán Dos Santos, president of the National Chamber of Commerce and Services of Paraguay (CNCSP), recognized that Peña's report could have emphasized "many things" being done well, such as promoting the country's image and its sovereign debt positioning. Dos Santos also found the president's stance at the Mercosur summit valid, stressing the need for Paraguay to have an equal position regarding opportunities within the bloc.

Conversely, Dos Santos pointed out that the president "minimized some aspects" that the nation has not yet fully addressed. "From the CNCSP, we are convinced that the formalization of the entire economy is the great challenge," he stated. "To achieve this, it is essential that we continue working on predictability and investing in infrastructure, security, health, and education."

To achieve this, it is essential that we continue working on predictability and investing in infrastructure, security, health, and education.

— Estebán Dos SantosPresident of the National Chamber of Commerce and Services of Paraguay (CNCSP), outlining necessary steps for economic improvement.

He further elaborated that Paraguay's challenge extends beyond achieving fiscal balance; it involves increasing revenue through greater formalization and ensuring that government expenditures are useful and primarily investments rather than current expenses. Dos Santos also highlighted the current leadership at the Institute of Social Security (IPS) as credible, a positive development after long-delayed decisions, expressing hope for increased institutional credibility for all covered workers. He stressed the importance of pushing significant legislative changes through Congress and avoiding populist measures during election years.

The great challenge is to continue promoting the major changes we need in Congress and to avoid entering election years with populism.

— Estebán Dos SantosPresident of the National Chamber of Commerce and Services of Paraguay (CNCSP), discussing legislative priorities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog