The Asunción City Hall, under the administration of Luis Bello (ANR-cartista), closed this Monday, May 18, a section of Presbítero Justo Román Street, between Augusto Roa Bastos Avenue and Comandante Luis González Street. The blockade, which is expected to last 45 days, is part of the storm drainage works in the Santo Domingo basin but worsens the traffic chaos in the region.
The Manorá and Santo Domingo neighborhoods, two of the most valuable areas of the capital, become even more isolated. Augusto Roa Bastos Avenue, which already operates in two-way traffic to absorb the flow, cannot handle the volume of vehicles. With the new closure, drivers lose the last road that connected the two neighborhoods smoothly.
The main alternative route will be Federación Rusa Avenue, in front of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), which is expected to become a bottleneck. The Municipal Traffic Police (PMT) advises complex detours, but residents and local businesses report a drastic drop in sales and difficulties accessing garages amid open ditches and debris.
The drainage project was promised by former mayor Óscar “Nenecho” Rodríguez (ANR-cartista), with funds from G8 bonds, issued in 2022 for infrastructure. According to the final report of intervenor Carlos Pereira, Rodríguez’s administration diverted 512 billion guaranis from these bonds to pay salaries and current expenses, instead of investing in the works. Of the eight promised basins, only four have started and none have been completed.
The contract for the Santo Domingo work was awarded to the Consórcio Pluvial Santos (Chaves Construções and Covipa), represented by Óscar Antonio Rubiani, for 72.389 billion guaranis. So far, 14.798 billion have been paid, according to the National Directorate of Contracts (DNCP). The initial one-year deadline expired last March.
Rodríguez resigned in August 2025, pressured by the intervention report, and faces eight criminal proceedings, including accusations of criminal association and breach of trust in the “golden detergents” case. Despite this, he is a candidate for city councilor.
The current administration of Luis Bello also faces a financial crisis: between May 2025 and March 2026, the city hall accumulated over 81 billion guaranis in overdue and unpaid interest to bondholders, who now demand another 9 billion in punitive interest and threaten legal action.