Paraguayans living in Córdoba, Argentina, had access on Friday, August 28, to documentation services, consular assistance and voter registration at a service day organized by deputies from the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA). The initiative also presented a proposal to integrate the identity and voter-registration systems to make it easier for citizens living abroad to register.
Services were provided from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Polo de la Mujer, 680 Entre Ríos Street, with support from Casa Paraguaya de Córdoba. The services included renewing identity cards, issuing and renewing passports, other consular procedures and registration in the Permanent Civic Register. Registration is presented as a requirement for Paraguayans who wish to vote from abroad in the next elections.
The initiative was driven by deputies Arnaldo Valdez and Cleto Giménez, both from the PLRA, with the participation of the National Police Identification Department, which is responsible for identity documents, the Electoral Justice Authority and Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Valdez said the service day responded to a request from the community and estimated that about 30,000 Paraguayans live in Córdoba. The deputy said demand for documents increased after the Paraguayan consulate in the city was closed by the Foreign Ministry in 2024 for budgetary reasons.
The first event of this kind was held last year, and Valdez announced another meeting with the Paraguayan community in Buenos Aires.
The main legislative development is a bill drafted by Valdez together with the Commission on Migration and Development Affairs. The proposal would allow a citizen’s address abroad to be certified when an identity card is renewed, with the data then sent to enable automatic registration in the Permanent Civic Register if the bill is approved.
According to the deputy, integration would create a more up-to-date database of Paraguayans living outside the country and help the state plan the provision of documentation, consular assistance and electoral services.
The Córdoba closure was carried out for budgetary reasons, according to the official account of the measure. Consulates were also closed in Mendoza, Corrientes and Neuquén, Argentina; Campo Grande and Porto Alegre, Brazil; and Villa Montes, Bolivia.
When measures affecting the diplomatic network were announced in April 2024, Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano linked the closure of embassies in Egypt, Canada, Portugal, Australia and Switzerland to a lack of diplomatic reciprocity. For the consulates, he cited budgetary reasons. The government estimated annual savings of US$8 million and opened consulates in Lisbon, Portugal, and Canberra, Australia, while seeking greater efficiency in the use of public resources.