Santiago Peña Faces a Race Against Time as Many Promises Remain Unfulfilled

Santiago Peña has two years left in his presidency, but the distance between his campaign promises and daily life is becoming harder to overlook. Paraguay’s government points to controlled inflation, gross domestic product growth and investment attraction. For many households, however, the cost of basic goods remains the more immediate measure of economic conditions.

Meat, dairy products, bread and vegetables absorb between 40% and 50% of the income of poorer families, according to the report. Fuel prices have added pressure. After briefly advertised reductions early in Peña’s administration, Petropar prices rose above the levels recorded at the beginning of his term. Diesel Porã, for example, reached 8,290 guaraníes per liter, increasing transport costs that feed into prices on store shelves.

Housing shows the gap between electoral rhetoric and the state’s ability to deliver. Peña campaigned on providing 500,000 housing solutions to reduce Paraguay’s longstanding deficit. Figures published by the Ministry of Urbanism, Housing and Habitat show 46,140 homes managed and 33,620 actually delivered. After more than half the presidential term, the delivered total represents just 6.72% of the original promise.

The ministry presents the figures as progress compared with previous administrations, but the current pace appears insufficient to approach the campaign target. The flagship Che Róga Porã program has also had limited reach among the families facing the most severe housing problems. Its loans have mainly benefited households earning more than 5 million guaraníes, leaving many minimum-wage workers and people in informal employment outside the program.

The result is a political deadline measured against increasingly concrete household pressures. The administration’s macroeconomic message continues, while food, fuel and housing costs keep exposing the limits of that promise for poorer Paraguayans.