Paraguay’s lower house faces the “difficult challenge” of meeting and ending its absentee streak

Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies faces what ABC Color calls a “difficult challenge” when it meets at 9 a.m.: achieving a quorum and debating at least one of the 17 items on its agenda.

The chamber has accumulated repeated episodes of what the newspaper describes as widespread irresponsibility. Sessions have regularly ended before lawmakers could address the listed matters because too few members attended. The official record shows that only eight of the 41 sessions held this year were completed.

Several items on Wednesday’s agenda already received approval in general but remain pending detailed consideration. The first would raise prison terms for public officials who help a prisoner escape. Under the current version of Article 294, such officials face up to seven years in prison. The proposal would set penalties from four to 10 years, rising to 15 years if more than one prisoner benefits from the escape.

The seventh item would amend several provisions of the 1992 Wildlife Law and overhaul the system governing animal hunting. The measure has drawn controversy and criticism from opposition lawmakers. The tenth item is the so-called Memby Law, which seeks to speed up procedures for legally compelling parents to pay child support. It would expand mechanisms for withholding and debiting money to cover payments.

The final item would increase penalties for irresponsible parents listed in the Register of Delinquent Child-Support Debtors. Existing sanctions include restrictions on obtaining a driver’s license for the first time, bans on transferring property and public identification as an irresponsible parent during a civil marriage. The proposal would add bans on obtaining or renewing driving licenses and permits, leaving the country without judicial authorization, renewing or obtaining a passport, and accessing sports and recreational events.