The Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare has begun construction of a Community Mental Health and Addictions Center in the Pacucuá neighborhood of Encarnación, with funding from the Yacyretá Binational Entity (EBY). The project, budgeted at approximately G. 3 billion, will be built on a 1,200 m² plot ceded on a 30-year loan by the National Republican Association (ANR) to the ministry, under an agreement signed on December 23, 2024, between Minister María Teresa Barán and party president Horacio Cartes.
Originally, the agreement called for a Family Health Unit (USF) at the site, but the initiative was modified after press inquiries. On June 5, 2025, an addendum changed the project to the community center, which is now moving forward with resources from the Yacyretá Completion Plan (PTY), under contract 1.059/2026. The work was awarded to Ecoservice Group SA, based in Ciudad del Este, with a 270-day execution period.
During the groundbreaking ceremony, Deputy and Honor Colorado mayoral pre-candidate Sebastián Remezowski stated: “I want to emphasize, so it is understood, that this investment Yacyretá will make is not on the grounds of the Colorado party branch, but on the Ministry of Health’s land.” Minister Barán, in turn, thanked the lawmaker: “Dear Deputy Sebastián Remezowski, affectionately ‘Cheva,’ thank you so much for dreaming; for dreaming of this space.”
The center’s location at a Colorado party branch and the electoral context raise doubts about the use of public resources to favor Remezowski’s candidacy. The Pacucuá neighborhood, with an estimated population of up to 10,000, is considered strategic for the municipal elections. Meanwhile, the Municipality of Encarnación and the Departmental Government of Itapúa, under non-Colorado administrations, tried to develop an alternative health center in the area, but project planners say the Ministry of Health refused to support the initiative, forcing its redirection to the municipal Health Directorate.
The center will have 542 m² of built area and will include a reception area, waiting room, psychological and psychiatric consultation rooms, a group session and crisis intervention room, administrative offices, an auditorium, a pharmacy, a recreational area, and wellness spaces.