The institutional crisis in the Caapucú Municipal Council, in the department of Paraguarí, has reached a new level of violence and political obstruction. The conflict, which has been dragging on since June, culminated in the confinement of councilors and the use of pepper spray to prevent a legislative session.
The core of the dispute is the attempt to approve the minutes of the June 6 session, in which Mayor Gustavo Penayo, of the Colorado Party (ANR), affiliated with the Honor Colorado faction, presented his resignation to run for re-election. However, after realizing his successor would not be a political ally, Penayo tried to invalidate the resignation itself, claiming the act was not valid.
Opponents argue the session met all legal requirements, making the resignation effective, and that approving the minutes at the next meeting is a mere formality. To prevent this, the five councilors from the governing bloc, led by the municipal legislature's president, Lidia Téllez, also from the cartista group, have created a series of obstacles.
The maneuvers include attempts to block the seven opposition councilors from entering the chamber, forcing sessions to be held in the local police station courtyard, and the alleged concealment of the minute book by President Téllez herself in collusion with the legislative secretary, Cinthia Quintana. A complaint against both has already been filed.
On Tuesday, the situation escalated to physical aggression. While opposition councilors tried to start a session, an unidentified individual released pepper spray inside the room. Subsequently, the seven councilors were locked inside the chamber, an act that opposition councilor Mabel Schupp, in a live social media broadcast, called "illegitimate deprivation of liberty."
Meanwhile, Mayor Gustavo Penayo remained near the municipal legislature in an intimidating posture, while Téllez attempted to swear in substitute councilors, a move seen as an attempt to alter the council's composition in her favor.
The affected councilors reported all the facts to the Superior Court of Electoral Justice (TSJE), but allege the complaints are being ignored, allowing the abuses to escalate. Furthermore, through legal maneuvers, Gustavo Penayo managed to have his brother, Ramón Penayo, who had placed fifth on the councilor list, proclaimed as a mayoral candidate, deepening the political crisis in the municipality.