Massive Protests in Paraguay against President Cartes

The mobilization is part of three days of protests starting Wednesday against the first year of governance by conservative president Horacio Cartes.

The demonstrations were called by the Guasu Front, a progressive coalition of political parties and social organizations, the National Federation of Farmers, the Organization of Education Workers, the Classist Workers' Union, and the National Coordination of Female Workers and Farmers, among others.

In the capital of Asuncion, the protests concentrated in front of the Executive's buildings, like the ministries of Education, Health and Internal Revenue yesterday.

Blanco Avalo, head of the Organization of Education's Workers, denounced the "authoritarianism" and "persecution" by Education Minister Marta Lafuente, while protesters condemned the “indebtedness of the sovereign bonds” in front of the Ministry of Internal Revenue.

They also demanded effective and rapid health solutions for the hundreds of farmers poisoned by the illegal fumigations of the big soy-exporters.

Protests in the rest of the country have consisted in marches and road blockades over the two past days, demanding agrarian reform and condemning the privatization of resources planned in an upcoming law.

Social scientists from the group Paraguay Debate agreed that President Horacio Cartes, after one year in power, had failed in social reform. Sociologist Jose Carlos Rodriguez, quoted by Ultima Hora, stated that Paraguay hadn´t developed socially, as "development has only reached the one percent".

​Cartes was elected shortly after the parliamentary coup that ousted left-wing President Lugo in 2012, widely condemned by the countries of the region and the international community.