Asunción: Javier Milei’s slogan “There is no money” has prevailed in the government of Santiago Peña and has hit one of the most sensitive institutions: the Paraguayan Indigenous Institute. The INDI surprised people on the first working day of the year with a communiqué in which, citing a lack of budget funds, it declared that it could only “accompany and coordinate the relevant institutions in medical emergencies”.
With this, the institution whose main objective is to ensure respect for the rights of indigenous communities, the most vulnerable groups in the country, announced on the social network X that there was no money for even the most basic assistance. A few minutes after the announcement, the institution deleted the post, but the damage was already done.
In the past, INDI has been dedicated to alleviating the most pressing needs of indigenous communities, such as food and shelter, but not without criticism for providing assistance without addressing the underlying problems. The institution had an open-door policy to the indigenous peoples who came from all over the country and camped in its former headquarters in the center of Asunción, although it was later moved to a military outpost, moving the camp to the edge of Avenida Artigas limited.
The announcement came amid an avalanche of criticism of political power with the revelation of the Paraguayan “caste” that guarantees expensive public positions to relatives and political actors, which even prompted the president of the Congress and father of one of the so-called “nepobabies” to speak out to point out the lack of space in the parliament building.
There was immediate outrage. Esperanza Martínez said it was unacceptable that there was no budget for such a sensitive facility. “This must be prevented. A work plan is drawn up that must cover every month of the year,” said the senator, although she clarified that there is always a budget gap in January and up to and including March.
“This is happening pending the finalization of the financial regulations and the treasury plan of the Ministry of Finance, which means that some institutions are underfunded, but it does not have to be that way,” Martínez said.
This must be prevented. A work plan is drawn up that must cover every month of the year.
The newspaper attempted to reach the institution’s president, former black congresswoman Marlene Ocampos, as well as the institution’s press secretary, Anibal Saucedo, but received no response to messages and calls.
The announcement comes less than a month after the head of INDI herself appeared before the Commission on Indigenous Peoples of the Chamber of Deputies, where she complained that the budget, passed by both chambers at the direction of Santiago Peña, almost without discussion, was around 23 billion G cut.
To date, following the deletion of the communiqué, no INDI authority has commented to state that the announcement had no impact or that the decision would be upheld. Martínez regretted that the institutions have so little respect for citizens at this time of year. “Everyone is on vacation and people are left to their own devices. A failed state, a state that only thinks about its own managers and not about the users of public policy,” he said.
Weekly newspaper / LPO
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2024-01-07 03:12:05
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