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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Economy & Trade

Paraguay’s 2027 Budget Sets Out Funding for Zero Hunger and Older Adults

From ABC Color · () Spanish

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

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Paraguay’s proposed 2027 national budget totals 166.3 trillion guaraníes, or $25.751 billion, and is now before Congress.
  • The executive branch proposes 7.387 trillion guaraníes for Zero Hunger, the universal pension for older adults and Tekoporã Mbarete, equal to 4.44% of the plan.
  • Zero Hunger would receive 3.2 trillion guaraníes to provide 335 million meals for 986,194 students, while providers warn that the budget does not account for food-price and wage increases.

Paraguay’s proposed 2027 budget has reached Congress with a total value of 166.3 trillion guaraníes, equivalent to $25.751 billion at an exchange rate of 6,458 guaraníes per dollar. The plan emphasizes education and social protection, particularly school meals and support for older people.

The executive branch proposes 7.387 trillion guaraníes, or $1.1439 billion, for three social assistance programs: Zero Hunger, the universal pension for older adults and Tekoporã Mbarete. Together, they would receive 4.44% of the proposed budget.

Zero Hunger in Schools would receive 3.2 trillion guaraníes, or $495.5 million. The Ministry of Social Development runs the program in coordination with the departments. Its 2027 target calls for 335 million food portions for 986,194 students, making school feeding one of the largest social-policy components linked to education.

This year we do not have any major problems.

· Víctor Mendoza LarrozaThe school-food providers’ representative described current payment delays as within the usual 60-day period.

Victor Mendoza Larroza, president of the Paraguayan Chamber of School Food Companies, said providers currently face no major payment problems, with outstanding bills still within the usual 60-day payment window. But he warned that the next tenders, covering 2027 to 2030, do not include accumulated inflation or the Central Bank’s 3.5% inflation projection.

Mendoza said the technical guidelines also fail to reflect a 23% rise in food prices and an 8.7% increase in the minimum wage between 2024 and 2026. Despite those increases, he said, the government set the same reference price per meal as in earlier tenders. The industry group submitted a technical and financial proposal to the government in response.

Despite these increases, they set the same reference price per meal as in the previous tenders.

· Víctor Mendoza LarrozaHe criticized the proposed pricing for future Zero Hunger tenders, saying it does not reflect higher food and labor costs.
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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