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Paraguay Lawmakers Declare Proctologists’ Day as Doctors Press for Better Pay Image: Tereza Fretes Alonso
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Paraguay Lawmakers Declare Proctologists’ Day as Doctors Press for Better Pay

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Approved/passed
  • Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies approved and sent to the executive branch a bill establishing Sept. 22 as National Coloproctologist Day.
  • Opposition lawmakers called the measure ironic amid a nationwide doctors’ strike seeking higher salaries and better hospital equipment.
  • President Santiago Peña denied a salary increase, while lawmakers said physicians needed more tangible recognition.

Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies approved a bill creating a national day for coloproctologists as doctors hold a nationwide strike demanding better pay and equipment.

The measure designates Sept. 22 as National Coloproctologist Day and was sent to the executive branch. Some opposition lawmakers described the timing as hypocritical, arguing that doctors are asking for practical improvements while the government offers symbolic recognition.

It is ironic that amid this debate over doctors’ working conditions, the Chamber of Deputies approves a date to celebrate this particular specialist, while we have a government that ignores them.

— Raúl BenítezThe opposition lawmaker criticized the bill during the doctors’ nationwide strike.

Independent lawmaker Raúl Benítez said it was ironic for lawmakers to approve a day honoring one medical specialty while the government ignores doctors’ demands and fails to make a counterproposal. He said the dispute involved not only salaries, but also hospital conditions and the tools needed to save patients’ lives.

The most meaningful, symbolic and recognizable thing we can do is finally pay our doctors better.

— Guillermo RodríguezThe physician and lawmaker called for practical recognition through improved pay.

Guillermo Rodríguez, a physician and member of the Yo Creo party, supported the bill but said the most meaningful recognition would be to pay doctors better according to their specialization. He also pointed to problems involving CT and mammography equipment and the low pay of specialist doctors.

President Santiago Peña denied a salary increase. The doctors’ protests have continued to focus on compensation and working conditions, giving the commemorative bill a sharply political tone in the debate over healthcare.

It seems to me like poetic justice.

— Raúl BenítezBenítez used the specialty’s role as a pointed metaphor for diagnosing the country’s problems.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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