DistantNews
Support us
Paraguayan President Accused of Clinging to National Team's Success Amid Government Failures
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Paraguayan President Accused of Clinging to National Team's Success Amid Government Failures

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Opposition lawmaker Adrián “Billy” Vaesken criticized President Santiago Peña's address to Congress, accusing him of demagoguery.
  • Vaesken argued Peña is trying to claim credit for the Paraguayan national football team's successes while his government fails to improve citizens' quality of life.
  • The lawmaker pointed to issues like inequality, drug addiction, precarious healthcare, and failed public transport reform as evidence of the government's poor performance.

Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Adrián “Billy” Vaesken has sharply criticized President Santiago Peña's recent address to Congress, labeling it as demagoguery and accusing the president of attempting to capitalize on the national football team's achievements.

It is unbearable to endure demagogic speeches and a government that clings to victory, with improvised holidays that harm the private sector, without having resilience.

— Adrián “Billy” VaeskenCriticizing President Peña's approach and government's performance.

Vaesken, a member of the PLRA party, stated that it is unacceptable for Peña to try and mask the country's realities with fabricated alternatives, especially by attributing the successes of the Paraguayan national team in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers to his administration. He argued that the resilience and fighting spirit demonstrated by the Albirroja (the national team) are characteristic of the citizens, not the current government.

A good ruler is measured by the quality of life of their people. And in that, this government continues to score no goals.

— Adrián “Billy” VaeskenContrasting the national team's success with the government's lack of achievement in improving citizens' lives.

"A good ruler is measured by the quality of life of their people. And in that, this government continues to score no goals," Vaesken declared. He contended that Peña's report aimed to "disguise" the reality of a society grappling with increasing inequality, widespread drug addiction, inadequate healthcare services, and a failed public transport reform.

The President Peña's report is a disguise that hides the increase in inequality, the number of 'chespis' (drug addicts) with whom we live daily, the precariousness of health service and not to mention his failed public transport reform.

— Adrián “Billy” VaeskenListing specific failures of the Peña administration.

The lawmaker also questioned the government's claims of economic success, such as achieving an investment grade and meeting halfway targets for job creation. Vaesken highlighted that remittances from Paraguayans working abroad due to a lack of domestic opportunities amount to $1.35 billion annually, contrasting sharply with the government's "falsely triumphalist" discourse.

He continues to celebrate the investment grade from his wonderland, ignoring that the third source of foreign currency is remittances from Paraguayans exiled due to lack of work ($1.35 billion per year).

— Adrián “Billy” VaeskenChallenging the government's economic claims by highlighting emigration for work.
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.

More Stories

From Our Blog