Paraguay in trouble between covid-19 and political management 5:25
(CNN Spanish) ––
The Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies dismissed and shelved the request for impeachment filed by the opposition against President Mario Abdo Benítez and Vice President Hugo Velázquez, of course poor performance in their duties to confront the pandemic.
The united opposition did not manage to exceed the 53 votes needed, two thirds of the plenary, for the attempt to remove the Executive from office to advance.
In the session, 78 of the 80 deputies of the plenary session participated, some present and others virtually.
The vote ended with 42 votes against impeachment and 36 in favor.
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Abdo Benítez and Velázquez represent different factions of the Colorado Party.
However, both sides joined forces to prevent the impeachment in Paraguay from succeeding.
The president has not offered comment after the failure of the second effort to impeach him.
Nor did he do it during the process.
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The first attempt occurred in August 2019, due to a controversial power purchase agreement with the binational hydroelectric plant Itaipú, shared with Brazil.
The act was annulled and the impeachment was deactivated.
The initiative for the second trial had emerged after more than a week of citizen protests in Asunción, which denounced the shortage of medicines for patients with Covid-19 and the imminent collapse of hospitals due to a sustained outbreak of the disease.
The protests continued on Tuesday.
Pro-impeachment protesters mobilized from Congress to the Colorado Party building.
Telefuturo reported on a fire that is already under control.
No injuries reported so far
Accusations against the government for vaccines
Among the accusations against the Executive Branch, the opposition argued that the Pan American Health Organization has not sent the vaccines from the Covax mechanism due to alleged errors in payments by Paraguay.
According to the opposition prosecution, the Paraguayan government sent the money to the wrong account.
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This Tuesday, the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Julio César Borba, clarified that "the transfers made as guarantees for the vaccines of the Covax mechanism are supported by the signed contract."
The head of the health portfolio added that the first payment of US $ 6,847,680 was sent to PAHO on October 1, 2020, while US $ 2,975,616 was transferred to The Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), a foundation created by Bill Gates to ensure access to poor countries to immunization against covid-19, on February 26, 2021.
In a statement published on the page of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare, Borba said that GAVI refunded the money due to changes in the administrative process of the Covax mechanism.
He also explained that this amount is in the account of the ministry, in the National Development Bank.
On the other hand, Borba reported that they paid US $ 158,000 to ensure the 36,000 doses that will be received this week.
Without this meaning "an alteration in the delivery schedule," he explained.
Along the same lines, PAHO said in a statement on Tuesday that there were no money remittance problems.
His explanation coincides with the version of the Paraguayan health authorities.
The Twitter account of the Government Palace reported on Tuesday that President Abdo Benítez confirmed that the first 36,000 doses of vaccines against covid-19, of the 4,279,800 planned through the Covax mechanism, will arrive in Paraguay this afternoon. Friday.
Impeachment Mario Abdo Benítez
