Arlene Aquino, the Partido Patria Soñada candidate for mayor of Asunción, says the 5.105 billion guaraníes for which former Central governor Hugo Javier González was convicted equals 1% of the 500 billion guaraníes she says were allegedly diverted during Óscar Rodríguez’s municipal administration. The comparison is Aquino’s claim; she criticizes the lack of significant progress in the Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation into the funds.
“The Hugo Javier case is 1% compared with what they took from our municipality, and nobody is behind bars,” Aquino said in a social media post. She also said the public should not allow the same political group to return, and mentioned Camilo Pérez, a candidate linked to Honor Colorado, a faction of the Colorado Party led by former president Horacio Cartes.
González was convicted of diverting 5.105 billion guaraníes in emergency funds released during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Aquino contrasts that case with the alleged diversion of 500 billion guaraníes in municipal funds intended for public works, which she says were used to pay salaries. The amount and comparison are the candidate’s allegations.
Rodríguez, a former mayor of Asunción and a member of the Colorado Party (ANR), linked to Honor Colorado (HC), was prosecuted in the case known as “Golden Detergent,” involving suspected irregularities in municipal purchases. That case is separate from the investigation into the 500 billion guaraníes cited by Aquino. The investigation into the alleged diversion had made no significant progress at the Public Prosecutor’s Office, as reported by ABC Color.
In 2026, Aquino is running for mayor under the Partido Patria Soñada. A notary clerk and specialist in real estate law and property titling, she is completing a political science degree at the National University of Asunción (UNA) and has never held public office. In the previous general election, she was on the Partido Cruzada Nacional’s list of congressional candidates; she later resigned from the party.
Aquino also left the Alianza Unidos por Asunción after challenging the selection of Soledad Núñez. Aquino said the polls used to choose the candidate were based on a sample that did not represent even 1% of the votes she received in 2023. Since November, she says, she had been campaigning door to door.