Paraguay union accuses UK firm Atome of lobbying, defends ousted ANDE chief

The general secretary of the ANDE workers' union, Sitrande, Adolfo Villalba, has accused representatives from the company Atome of traveling from England to lobby in Paraguay. Villalba stated that the management of the outgoing ANDE president, Félix Sosa, was "mostly positive," and defended Sosa's decision to refuse signing a preferential tariff contract with Atome.

Villalba asserted that Sosa's removal as ANDE president was directly linked to his refusal to sign the contract with Atome. He revealed that Atome representatives exerted significant pressure on ANDE, with a company representative even traveling from England for lobbying efforts. "There is no doubt that the previous president was changed because of his refusal to sign the contract with Atome," Villalba stated.

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there is no doubt that the previous president was changed because of his refusal to sign the contract with Atome.

The core issue, according to Villalba, is Atome's attempt to dictate the terms of its energy relationship with ANDE. "They come to try to impose on ANDE how it should sell its energy... that's where we disagree, because ultimately we will adapt to the company's interests, and not the company to Paraguay," he questioned.

Despite concerns about ANDE's increased debt levels under Sosa's five-year tenure, Villalba characterized his management as positive. He highlighted the widespread installation of transformers as a key achievement that reduced service interruptions and customer complaints. "That part worries me... because ANDE has become much more indebted than before, but that also means it will invest, to invest you have to get into debt, because the tariff is not enough," he explained.

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They come to try to impose on ANDE how it should sell its energy... that's where we disagree, because ultimately we will adapt to the company's interests, and not the company to Paraguay.