Current Paraguay briefing
Rocío Vallejo seeks MOPC information on the progress of the Tren de Cercanías
Rocío Vallejo submitted a draft resolution requesting that the MOPC provide information on the background, tenders, progress, costs, financing, possible obstacles and timeline of the Tren de Cercanías, a project relevant to metropolitan mobility and regional connectivity. The text will still be reviewed by Chamber of Deputies committees.
ICE plans to spend up to $2 million on Spot robots for high-risk inspections in the US
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to spend between $1 million and $2 million to buy Boston Dynamics Spot quadruped robots for inspections and risk assessments in dangerous, confined or hard-to-reach areas, but it has not yet determined the quantity or final purchase price.
Pajari wins in Itapúa; Domínguez takes WRC2 at home
Sami Pajari won Rally del Paraguay 2026 for his third consecutive victory of the WRC season. Diego Domínguez Bejarano won WRC2 at home, while Santiago Peña said he would work to bring more competitions to Paraguay; Pedro Alliana presented Andrea Lafarja as the first Paraguayan woman to reach a World Rally Championship podium.
Context
Paraguay Briefing
Short, useful context on the stories shaping Paraguay's politics, markets, and institutions.
Alberdi celebrates 96 years as exchange-rate pressure hits border trade and new roads open Paraguayan markets
Maigotex turns mango residues into biomaterial for bags and footwear in Paraguay
Study involving Asunción Municipality proposes pedestrian lane at Market 4
Deputies propose integrating identity and voter-registration systems after Córdoba consulate closes
Problems in Montevideo Raise Costs and Uncertainty for Paraguayan Cargo on the Waterway
María Esther Roa accuses Paraguay’s Supreme Court of corruption and calls for structural reform
Featured
Analysis & Explainers
Background for readers following Paraguay through policy, business risk, diplomacy, and regional affairs.
Appeals court upholds rejection of access to source code for Paraguay’s 2026 election machines
The Court of Appeals upheld the rejection of Luis Carlos Benítez Aguilar’s request for access to the source code and hashes of voting machines for Paraguay’s municipal elections on October 4, 2026, citing contractual and intellectual-property limitations.
Paraguayan cattle prices rise 22% in dollars, while revenue in guaraníes grows 6%
Paraguayan cattle prices rose by about 22% in dollars between January and August 2026, while revenue converted into guaraníes increased by approximately 6%, according to an Appec report. The gap shows how the guaraní’s appreciation affected results in the local currency.
Vacchetta proposal calls for 24 km of parks along streams to ease traffic in Asunción
Rosa Vacchetta proposes restoring the Ferreira and Mburicaó streams with 24 kilometers of linear parks and bike paths to reduce flooding, contamination and congestion concentrated on six avenues, creating alternative routes for pedestrians and cyclists. In an interview, she also accused Essap of discharging untreated effluent into the waterways.
Chamber of Deputies bill proposes integrated policy to preserve and teach the history of Acosta Ñu
A bill introduced in Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies proposes an integrated policy to research, preserve, teach and disseminate information about Acosta Ñu and the Campaign of the Cordilleras. The measures remain proposals subject to legislative review; the text would also bring together dispersed legal and institutional instruments and create an ad honorem technical committee.
Mercosur Holds First Round of Preferential Trade Agreement Talks with Vietnam in Buenos Aires
Mercosur held the first round of talks with Vietnam in Buenos Aires on a preferential trade agreement aimed at expanding market access, diversifying exports and fostering investment.
Proposal for a declaration calls for bridge over the Paraguay River to connect San Pedro with the Chaco and the Bioceanic Corridor
A project presented in the Chamber of Deputies proposes declaring a bridge over the Paraguay River in Puerto Antequera to be of national interest, connecting San Pedro with the Chaco and the Bioceanic Corridor. The initiative does not approve construction, but could create a logistics alternative between the Eastern Region and the international corridor.
Paraguay and Taiwan plan a binational AI data center of up to 1,000 MW in Chaco’i
Paraguay and Taiwan are planning a binational artificial intelligence data center in Chaco’i, based on a model similar to Itaipu and presented by the Paraguayan government as intended to become the world’s largest AI center. The project’s final capacity is planned at up to 1,000 MW, with an estimated initial investment of US$200 million to US$300 million.
Sections
Economy, Politics, Security, Environment
Key coverage areas with editorial weight, not a flat archive.
Economy
View allSenator Gustavo Leite proposes cutting up to US$400 million and offering retirement to 100,000 public employees
Senator Gustavo Leite proposed reducing public spending by up to US$400 million a year, including an incentivized voluntary retirement program for up to 100,000 public employees, merging redundant agencies and freezing hiring. The figures and effects are Leite’s projections, and implementation still depends on financing, executive decisions and negotiations.
Politics
View allPajari wins in Itapúa; Domínguez takes WRC2 at home
Sami Pajari won Rally del Paraguay 2026 for his third consecutive victory of the WRC season. Diego Domínguez Bejarano won WRC2 at home, while Santiago Peña said he would work to bring more competitions to Paraguay; Pedro Alliana presented Andrea Lafarja as the first Paraguayan woman to reach a World Rally Championship podium.
Security & Justice
View allSenad seizes 30 rifles hidden beneath provisions in Pedro Juan Caballero
The National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Senad) seized 30 7.62 mm FAL rifles hidden beneath provisions in a pickup truck in Pedro Juan Caballero and detained two brothers suspected of preparing to send the weapons to Brazil, while Paraguay’s arms sector calls for a review of import procedures and authorizations.
Agriculture
View allParaguay is home to six endemic Manihot species, including the threatened M. takape
Paraguay is home to 15 Manihot taxa, six of them endemic, including Manihot takape, described in 2018 through a research project on wild relatives of economically important crops.
Infrastructure & Environment
View allRocío Vallejo seeks MOPC information on the progress of the Tren de Cercanías
Rocío Vallejo submitted a draft resolution requesting that the MOPC provide information on the background, tenders, progress, costs, financing, possible obstacles and timeline of the Tren de Cercanías, a project relevant to metropolitan mobility and regional connectivity. The text will still be reviewed by Chamber of Deputies committees.
Society & Health
View allStudent asks about persecution under the dictatorship in sign language during visit to Asunción
A student from the Primera Escuela Paraguaya de Sordos asked in sign language why Paraguayans were persecuted during a morning visit to Plaza de los Desaparecidos in Asunción, where Néstor Vera explained the persecution of people demanding better working conditions and human rights during the Stroessner dictatorship; the activity, part of a three-article series on historical memory, also brought together victims and relatives, while the Truth and Justice Commission estimates around 107,987 affected relatives and records 20,090 direct victims.
Culture & Sport
View allAlberdi celebrates 96 years as exchange-rate pressure hits border trade and new roads open Paraguayan markets
Alberdi celebrated its 96th anniversary with a civic, student and military parade as border trade faces the effects of the Argentine peso’s devaluation and the city benefits from new road connections since 2021. With Argentine purchasing power declining, improved road access could redirect commerce toward Paraguayan customers.