Itaipú Binacional significantly increased its vehicle-rental budget, from G. 16.120 billion in 2024 to G. 26.829 billion in the current period, an increase of G. 10.7 billion under the Paraguayan management of Justo Zacarías Irún, who is linked to Cartismo.
The budget increase includes the unprecedented addition of an armored fleet, with plans to rent 76 armored pickup trucks per year at a unit cost of G. 8.5 million, totaling an additional G. 646 million.
Beyond the armored vehicles, both the number and unit cost of other vehicles rose sharply. Demand for four-wheel-drive pickup trucks, for example, increased from 200 to 500 units per year, while the price rose from G. 1.9 million to G. 2.28 million per vehicle.
Buses for 44 passengers also increased, with the annual quantity rising from 2,160 to 2,700 units and the unit cost going from G. 6 million to G. 6.5 million.
Minibuses showed the largest increase in volume, from 100 to 400 units per year, although the rate fell because of revised technical specifications.
This is not the first case of substantial increases under the current management. In 2023, the binational entity had already recorded similar rises in procurement, including purchases of garden seedlings in which some items tripled in price in less than three years.
The context goes back to a leaked audio recording from September 2025, attributed to former Cartista senator Javier “Chaqueñito” Vera, that mentioned a request for vehicles to “collect monthly,” raising concerns about the management of funds allocated to vehicle rentals.