The national doctors’ strike entered its second day Tuesday, the 25th, with protests near the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) in Luque and an unresolved dispute over salaries, job stability and public health funding. The National Medical Union (Sinamed) is maintaining the stoppage, initially scheduled through Friday, the 28th, and is threatening to extend it indefinitely.
The mobilization coincided with President Santiago Peña’s participation in the opening of the Paraguay 2026 Protagonists Meeting, attended by businesspeople and international guests. The doctors tried to draw the head of state’s attention, but there was no meeting with the president. The event area was surrounded by barriers and police; union leader Rosanna González accused officers of trying to conceal signs, an allegation that was not independently corroborated.
After Luque, the protesters went to the National Pantheon of Heroes for a tribute and then to Congress. On Wednesday, the 26th, at 9 a.m., Sinamed representatives are expected to meet formally with Raúl Latorre, president of the Chamber of Deputies, and caucus leaders. The Senate also summoned Public Health Minister María Teresa Barán, Economy and Finance Minister Óscar Lovera, and Deputy Minister for Human Capital Andrea Picaso for Thursday, the 27th, at 9 a.m.
The doctors are seeking an increase of about G. 3 million per employment relationship, bringing income close to G. 8 million, double pay for holidays worked, better hospital conditions and the appointment of contracted professionals. The figures presented for this group differ: the Ministry of Health reports 12,226 doctors and more than 24,000 employment relationships, while union representatives refer to thousands of contracted workers and, in one estimate, as many as 9,000 professionals in that situation.
The government estimates that the increase would cost between US$120 million and US$150 million a year. Barán supports a health-care career system, with advancement tied to education and specialization, and says the ministry’s annual budget is approximately US$1.4 billion, compared with an estimated ideal need of US$2.2 billion. The minister also cites a proposal to regularize 2,390 contracted workers and more than 11,000 newly authorized employment relationships, measures the union considers insufficient without an immediate increase.
The dispute also reaches the Colorado Party (ANR). Silvio Ovelar says the state cannot “give what it does not have” and is prioritizing debts for medicines, while Carlos Núñez and Blanca Ovelar have shown support for the demands. Deputy Hugo Meza advocated a gradual solution in the 2027 budget, and Rodrigo Gamarra called for sustainable compensation, warning that a prolonged stoppage harms patients awaiting consultations, surgeries and treatment.
Barán also maintains that public-service legislation does not provide for a strike without a defined end date and that the government is examining the issue with the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security. She says dialogue remains open; the doctors, for their part, say previous meetings produced no concrete proposal. Meanwhile, outpatient consultations and nonurgent surgeries remain suspended in the public network, which comprises more than 1,500 facilities.
The mobilizations have also exposed the shortage of medicines, supplies and equipment reported at hospitals in different departments. The immediate impact falls on users of the public system, especially patients who depend on free care and already face long waits for consultations and procedures.