President Mario Abdo Benítez of Paraguay faced calls for resignation and major street protests over the weekend, while residents denounced the poor state of the public health system, under pressure amid a record number of coronavirus infections.
Paraguay, one of the poorest countries in South America, received only a few thousand doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Julio Mazzoleni, the Minister of Health, resigned on Friday when intensive care units in hospitals filled up and doctors were left without basic medicines.
Hours after Mazzoleni stepped down, thousands took to the streets in central Asunción, the capital, to call for the resignation of Abdo Benítez, a conservative leader who took office in August 2018.
Opposition protesters and lawmakers said the country’s health crisis was exacerbated by widespread corruption at all levels of public spending and procurement.
“Paraguayans have already paid for medicines and vaccines that are not here,” said parliamentarian Efraín Alegre, head of the main opposition party, the Liberal Party. “It is not the fault of the Paraguayan people – it is a serious problem of corruption.”
While lawmakers called for his impeachment, Abdo Benítez on Saturday asked all his ministers to write letters of resignation. At the end of the day, he accepted the resignation of three ministers, including Education.
The protest began on Wednesday, when medical professionals held a protest in Asunción to draw attention to the scarcity of basic medical supplies. Health professionals said they ran out of drugs for chemotherapy and sedatives for patients who needed to be intubated.
For now, Abdó Benítez appears to have sufficient support in Congress to avoid impeachment. But protesters across the country have said they intend to continue holding demonstrations until their government falls.
Paraguay closed its borders and implemented strict measures at the beginning of the pandemic, which initially spared it from the great outbreaks seen in neighboring countries like Brazil and Argentina. But infections have increased in recent weeks, peaking on March 4, when health officials reported 1,439 new cases.
Health ministers from three other South American countries – Argentina, Ecuador and Peru – have resigned in recent weeks amid scandals and criticisms of the ways governments have dealt with the distribution of vaccines and other aspects of the response to the pandemic.