It's been striking to see how tolerant people have been of their governments' mismanagement of the pandemic. Apparently Paraguay is an exception. Via Deutsche Welle Brazil: Paraguayans take to the streets in indignation over pandemic. Excerpt from the Google translation and then an update:
The anger of Paraguayans against what they see as the government's deficient management of the covid-19 pandemic has hit the streets. The protests, which peaked on Friday with clashes with the police, have already led to the fall of the health minister. Protesters now call for the removal of the president, conservative Mario Abdo Benítez.
This Saturday (03/06), Abdo Benítez asked for the resignation of all the ministers of his government, during a meeting with his closest collaborators in the presidential residence of Mburuvicha Roga, to "assess the situations of yesterday" and prepare a public statement, as informed the Minister of Information and Communication Technologies, Juan Manuel Brunetti.
"The concrete message is this: the president listened to the citizens, summoned his office and asked them to make their positions available," said Brunetti.
The spokesman insisted that Abdo Benítez had received "the message from the citizens", although the protesters demanded the departure of the entire Executive, starting with the President himself, and not changes of ministers.
Brunetti also added that it will be the head of state who will announce the ministerial exits at the moment when "he has concrete facts to communicate to the citizens".
With a record of infections, crowded ICU beds and a health system on the verge of collapse, Paraguay, which was praised for its crisis management, also faces a lack of drugs to treat patients with covid-19. Vaccination, moreover, is advancing slowly: it is estimated that only 0.1% of the population has been immunized.
Pitched battle in Asunción
On Friday, the protests started peacefully, but soon turned the historic center of the capital Asunción into a battleground. At least one person died and 18 others were injured.
Security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas around Congress, while protesters tried to break through barricades and throw stones at the police.
Images displayed by the local press showed several people injured by rubber bullets fired by police, and security forces agents hit by stones thrown by some protesters.
The core of the disturbances was an area that includes the headquarters of the National Police, the headquarters of Congress and the Government Palace. After the confrontation, the crowd dispersed through several streets in the center, shouting slogans against the government of Abdo Benítez.
Interior Minister Arnaldo Giuzzio told reporters that the incidents were caused by people who infiltrated the demonstration to generate turmoil.
A group of protesters, estimated at around 100 by the Paraguayan press, intends to hold a vigil before Congress to demand the resignation of Abdo Benítez.
Shortage of medicines and vaccines
The call for the protest this Friday was made after the union of nurses and family members of patients held this week other demonstrations to denounce the lack of medical supplies and materials in public hospitals, especially among those most affected by the coronavirus.
On Friday morning, Health Minister Julio Mazzoleni resigned after meeting with Abdo Benítez, but that did not appease the anger of the protesters.
The Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare issued a news release today announcing that Dr. Julio César Borba is now the interim minister of health.
