Deputy for Boquerón, Francisco Petersen (ANR), acknowledged the transformation in road infrastructure in the Chaco over the past ten to fifteen years, but warned that vast areas of Alto Paraguay still suffer critical isolation during the rainy season. In an interview, Petersen stated that the asphalt layer, which previously only reached Mariscal Estigarribia, has been extended to Infante Rivarola, on the border with Bolivia.
The legislator described the construction of Section 1 of the Bioceanic Corridor, which connects Carmelo Peralta to Centinela and Loma Plata, linking the department of Alto Paraguay to Boquerón and the Transchaco Route for the first time, as “a great relief.” However, he emphasized that the urgent commitment to lift populations in northern Alto Paraguay from chronic isolation persists.
Localities such as Toro Pampa, María Auxiliadora, Bahía Negra, and the departmental capital itself, Puerto Olimpo, remain unreachable by land. Constant rains cut off dirt roads, preventing the movement of light and heavy vehicles essential for the flow of livestock production. Petersen lamented that the situation recurs year after year.
Due to the impassable state of the roads, residents of Bahía Negra and Puerto Olimpo depend almost exclusively on river transport to Carmelo Peralta, from where they can continue by road to distribution centers. The deputy described the current situation as “quite critical” and called for definitive road solutions for the region.