Paraguayan doctors strike, resurfacing Peña's conflicting campaign promises

Paraguayan doctors have launched a strike amid widespread discontent over medicine shortages and inadequate supplies in healthcare facilities. The industrial action has prompted social media users to recirculate a campaign promise made by President Santiago Peña in March 2023. During a meeting with the Colorado Health Coordinators, Peña pledged that under his administration, doctors and healthcare staff would earn more, retire earlier, and work fewer hours.

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In the government of Santiago Peña, doctors and officials will earn more, they will retire younger, and they will work fewer hours.

This promise, made just a month before the general elections, was aimed at healthcare officials, including administrative staff. Peña specifically stated, "In the government of Santiago Peña, doctors and officials will earn more, they will retire younger, and they will work fewer hours." This pledge was presented as a means to improve the lives of healthcare professionals.

However, critics are pointing out a stark contradiction in Peña's public statements. Shortly before the election, while addressing the Paraguayan Industrial Union (UIP), Peña reportedly suggested that differentiated benefits for certain sectors drain the national budget. He even cited his own father, who continued working until age 80, as an example of ideal longevity in employment. This contrast has fueled accusations of populist rhetoric and broken promises.

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The medical guild has been, unlike teachers, the guild that has had the most increases in the last five years. It has been the sector that has received its demands like no other.

This is not the first time Peña has faced accusations of inconsistency regarding healthcare policy. In 2016, when he served as Minister of Finance under President Horacio Cartes, his administration reportedly viewed medical professionals less favorably. The article notes that during that period, the medical guild was characterized differently, and their demands were not met with the same enthusiasm as implied in his 2023 campaign promise.

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A doctor can have up to three contracts, each contract is five million guaranis. On average they can earn 15 million guaranis, a quite competitive salary.