An audit by the Comptroller General’s Office presented to Congress on August 31 found payments exceeding G. 50 billion to more than 11,000 deceased retirees at the IPS, alongside a G. 624 billion discrepancy in inventory, while public doctors continue mobilizing for better wages and working conditions.
Jorge Brítez
Pytagua coverage mentioning Jorge Brítez.
Former IPS president Vicente Bataglia received house arrest for irregular entry into the country, while another former president Jorge Brítez faces a second criminal case for elevator bidding and his lawyer alleges political persecution, and a third, Andrés Gubetich, returned to EBY with high salary and is investigated for fraud, amid a billion-dollar loss case at the institute.
Paraguay's Social Security Institute (IPS) is spending more to resume construction of surgical centers at the Central Hospital in Asunción after fraud, million-dollar contract amendments, and three-year delays in the contract with Neighpart S.A., while former managers are investigated for losses to the public treasury.
While Paraguay's Social Security Institute (IPS) approves a mandatory digital census for retirees, the institution faces a crisis with stalled modular operating room construction, which has consumed multimillion-dollar payments and generated lawsuits, and with the allegation that 569 nurses receive less than the minimum wage.
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña denied payment to foreign influencers in the country, highlighted the attraction of digital nomads and investments in infrastructure and security, but documents reveal the government allocated $1.5 million for campaigns with influencers until 2027, in addition to defending the Social Security Institute (IPS) and avoiding comment on Horacio Cartes' Senate candidacy.
Public pressure for judicial effectiveness against corruption at IPS grows with the recent indictment of nine people, while experts and retirees warn about procedural delays and demand recovery of misappropriated funds.
Paraguay's Public Prosecutor's Office has charged nine people, including two former presidents of the IPS, for an alleged embezzlement of 61 billion guaranis related to a never-completed modular operating room project, amid a crisis at the institution where the Comptroller General's Office points to much larger losses and beneficiaries demand broad investigations.
Paraguay's Prosecutor's Office charged nine former IPS employees, including former presidents, for embezzlement of G. 61 billion in a contract for modular operating rooms never installed.
Police inaugurate identification agency at Asunción Port to decentralize services, while the president of the IPS warns of an imminent healthcare crisis with the application of a law that reduces doctors' working hours and will affect around 2,000 professionals starting in September.
Paraguay's Public Ministry has requested the preventive detention of two former presidents of the Social Security Institute (IPS) and seven other former officials for an alleged diversion of 61 billion guaranis in unfinished works. In separate cases, former mayor Miguel Prieto will stand trial for a simulated purchase during the pandemic, and three people are accused of fraud against Mennonite settlers.
The president of Paraguay's Social Security Institute (IPS), Isaías Fretes, warns of an irreversible crisis at the institution after 100 days of management, marked by severe financial challenges, medicine shortages, and a "perfect storm" caused by reduced working hours for health professionals.
IPS President Isaías Fretes discovered hospital equipment valued at $20 million abandoned and unused at the Central Hospital, prompting the opening of audits and the possibility of reports to the Public Ministry for alleged damage to public property.
Senator Rafael Filizzola demanded explanations from IPS president Isaías Fretes over the transfer of billions of guaranis from the social security fund to Ueno bank, which is linked to a former business partner of President Santiago Peña, following the relaxation of rules that reduced financial security requirements for the institution.
The Hospiclean Consortium was reported to the DNCP for paying cleaning workers at the IPS below the legal minimum wage, despite declaring costs of up to G. 9.5 million per worker per month, while the outsourcing contract, signed in November 2024, had a total value of G. 126.9 million.
Paraguay's Social Security Institute (IPS) announced a contingency plan to address the medicine shortage crisis affecting its entire healthcare network. President Isaías Fretes confirmed the removal of nearly a thousand items from the formulary, sparking debate over the effectiveness of the measures.