ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay – Paraguay was almost a leader in preventing the pandemic, and despite the persistent problems, the country remained fairly calm. Not anymore.
Paraguay’s coronavirus infection rate has risen and become one of the worst in the Americas, and its already shaky health system has been stretched to the breaking point. In the last few days, thousands of protesters have filled the streets demanding the expulsion of President Mario Abdo Benitez, and in some cases there have been bloody clashes with police.
For many Paraguayans, corruption and elite claims that were previously just unpleasant facts of life have become unbearable in the face of the pandemic. There is a shortage of basic medicines that doctors and nurses blame on the end; Non-emergency surgeries have been suspended due to a shortage of medical supplies, and there are few vaccines.
The crisis has washed into the streets with a degree of anger that the leaders of the country have not encountered in years. Daily protests began last Friday with medical workers, who were quickly joined by other frustrated people. Most were peaceful, but in some cases security forces met the protesters with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons.
“There are so many deaths and it’s all the fault of the thieves who run our corrupt institutions,” said Sergio Duarte, who joined the rally outside Congress on Saturday in Asunción, the capital and largest city of Paraguay.
The unrest in Paraguay is a snapshot of the major challenges facing Latin America as the virus continues to weigh heavily, while governments struggle to provide adequate health care and obtain enough vaccines.
The virus infected and killed Latin Americans in excessive numbers. The region has just over 8 percent of the world population and about a quarter of the confirmed deaths in Covid-19.
Paraguay’s official fall and death rates remain well below the peaks that have plagued most of the world, including the United States, but are getting worse – the number of daily new infections has doubled to the highest level in less than a month still – even as many other countries improve.
“We are here because we are tired,” said Rosa Bogarín, one of thousands of protesters in Asunción. “We need free vaccinations for everyone, medicine, training and a way out of this situation.”
Anger over the pace of vaccine deployment has hit many countries, exacerbated in some places by the powerful and well-connected compounds and early access to early access shots.
In Paraguay, there was hardly a queue to jump. A nation of 7 million people received only 4,000 doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccine last week. Over the weekend, Chile donated a shipment of 20,000 doses made by China’s Sinovac.
The recession of the pandemic has exacerbated poverty, inequality and food insecurity in Latin America as well as worldwide, exacerbating frustrations over dealing with the virus. The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean recently estimated that 209 million people in the region will be living in poverty by the end of 2020, an increase of 22 million from a year earlier.
The crisis has fueled years of frustration among wealthy and political leaders who do not feel bound by the same rules as others, said Alejandro Catterberg, a political analyst and poller run by Poliarquía, a consultant in Buenos Aires.
“In Latin America, there is a general social structure in which powerful people have certain privileges and the political class has a self-imposed status other than the ordinary citizen,” he said.
In Paraguay, the basis of the current crisis, including corruption, poverty and a poor health care system, is “exacerbated by the pandemic,” but existed earlier, said Verónica Serafini Geoghegan, an economist at the Center for the Analysis and Distribution of, said. the Paraguayan economy, a non-governmental organization.
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Mr. Abdo fired his health minister, Julio Mazzoleni, and three other members of his cabinet over the weekend, but this did not quell the protests. Mazzoleni followed in the footsteps of his peers in Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina, forcing everyone to deal with the pandemic.
Paraguay along with nearby Uruguay were applauded for their swift and decisive action that kept their coronavirus outbreaks modest during the first months of the pandemic. But the infection began to increase late last year, pushing intensive care units to the brink.
Opposition leaders called for a halt to the protests. Abdo, a Conservative leader who has two more years left in his term. On Saturday, the president asked all his ministers to draw up resignation letters and told protesters that he understood their frustration.
“I am a man of dialogue and not of confrontation,” Abdo said.
Many protesters say they plan to stay on the streets until the government falls. Popular songs include ‘Elections Now!’ and ‘Marito must resign’, a reference to the president’s nickname.
Foreign Minister Euclides Acevedo in Paraguay said the government was scrambling to deliver the vaccines it had ordered from suppliers as the Ministry of Health had an increased condition alert.
“Paraguay is determined to get vaccines anywhere, anyhow,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “Everyone needs to be vaccinated here, and that’s the government’s intention for free.”
But many young protesters say they have waited long enough for decent government.
“We will not stop until Marito resigns,” protester Melisa Riveros said.
Santi Carnieri reported from Asunción, Paraguay. Daniel Politi reports from Buenos Aires. Ernesto Londoño reported on Rio de Janeiro.