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Digital lending platforms in Latin America charge abusive interest rates and use harassment to collect debts

Digital lending platforms in Latin America charge interest rates that can exceed 60% per year, deduct administrative fees of more than 30% of the disbursed amount, and use digital harassment — including sending messages to family members, friends, and employers — to collect debts, with complaints filed by regulatory authorities in Paraguay, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, where the practice became known as "montadeudas."

Yacyretá refuses to disclose audits, citing legal constraints

The Yacyretá Binational Entity (EBY) refused to disclose the results of audits conducted by the firms Audicon and Ayca in 2023, as well as internal and external audits, citing legal constraints arising from the special regime governing the entity. Paraguayan lawyer Federico Legal, who requested the information through a public access to information request, described the refusal as arbitrary and stated that those responsible may face penalties under Paraguayan law.

Armed gang carries out planned heist, stealing US$200,000 from Vía Brasil employees in Ciudad del Este

An armed group carried out a planned heist on Tuesday morning, May 26, in Ciudad del Este, stealing approximately $200,000 from employees of the importer Vía Brasil as they were heading to a bank along Route PY02. On the same day, a separate robbery occurred involving employees of Distribuidora Renacer, with four suspects arrested and part of the money recovered.

Minister Óscar Lovera confirms $80 million payment to pharmaceutical suppliers and announces Treasury-backed factoring mechanism with Central Bank of Paraguay

Óscar Lovera, Minister of Economy and Finance, confirmed a payment of US$80 million to pharmaceutical suppliers as part of a plan to reduce a total debt of about US$1 billion. He also announced a new Treasury-backed factoring mechanism with the Central Bank of Paraguay that will allow suppliers to assign receivables to banks and receive immediate liquidity, with payment terms extended up to 36 months.

Scientists warn President Peña about the proliferation of low-quality doctorates in Paraguay

Paraguayan scientists sent a letter to President Santiago Peña and the National Congress warning about the proliferation of low-quality doctoral programs in Paraguay, highlighting issues such as conflicts of interest within the National Council of Higher Education (Cones), lack of academic rigor, and shortcomings in the evaluation and accreditation of these programs by the National Agency for the Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education (Aneaes).