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Paraguay Senate returns 'Zero Hunger' funds to criticized governors
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Paraguay Senate returns 'Zero Hunger' funds to criticized governors

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Approved/passed
  • Paraguay's Senate has returned control of the "Hambre Cero" (Zero Hunger) program funds to governors of Concepción and Alto Paraná.
  • This decision reverses a previous attempt to exclude these governors, who face public criticism over alleged extravagance.
  • The Senate's move, influenced by political considerations ahead of internal elections, was justified by a senator citing ongoing audits and the need for political expediency.

The Paraguayan Senate has accepted modifications to the "Hambre Cero" (Zero Hunger) program, effectively returning the administration of significant funds to the governors of Concepción, Liz Meza, and Alto Paraná, César "Landy" Torres. This decision comes despite public scrutiny and criticism directed at both governors, particularly Meza, following a lavish birthday party that sparked outrage over alleged misuse of public funds.

How fragile our memory is, we let two months pass and we forget the ostentatious party of a governor. That shameful party for the entire population is not justified, but now that people have forgotten, we are giving the money back.

— Yolanda ParedesSenator Yolanda Paredes criticizes the Senate's decision to return funds to the governor of Concepción, referencing the public outcry over her lavish party.

The initial legislative proposal sought to exclude these governors from managing the program's resources, a move supported by opposition senators who decried the "selective forgetfulness" of their ruling party colleagues. However, the Senate ultimately backtracked, a decision that occurred just days before simultaneous internal elections.

Senator Silvio "Beto" Ovelar, a proponent of the initial exclusion, cited the ongoing audits by the General Comptroller's Office regarding Governor Meza's expenditures and the execution of the "Hambre Cero" program as reasons for his change of stance. He also alluded to political pragmatism, suggesting it was not the opportune moment to confront fellow party members in the Chamber of Deputies, especially with elections looming.

The devil knows more because he is old than because he is the devil.

— Silvio “Beto” OvelarSenator Silvio “Beto” Ovelar uses this idiom to justify his change of heart, implying a cautious political approach due to experience and upcoming elections.

In a related development, a proposal to decentralize the administration of "Hambre Cero" resources to local mayors was postponed for 30 days at the request of its sponsor, Senator Colym Soroka. Soroka stated he lacked the necessary votes to advance his decentralization initiative, despite his commitment to supporting family farming and small producers.

I am going to keep fighting for family farming and the small producer, but I don't have the votes.

— Colym SorokaSenator Colym Soroka explains his request to postpone the vote on decentralizing "Hambre Cero" funds to mayors.
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.

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