Paraguay's Minister of Economy and Finance, Óscar Lovera, described the state of public finances as “complicated,” attributing the squeeze to a “slowdown” in tax revenues that began in October 2025. In an interview on Tuesday, Lovera explained that the most critical point was February, when revenue fell by about $12 million compared to the same month in 2025. Before that, December and January had matched the previous year's figures.
According to the minister, the drop in revenues affected the liquidity of the Public Treasury, compromising payments to suppliers for the Ministries of Public Works and Public Health. Lovera highlighted that exogenous factors worsened the situation, such as the appreciation of the guarani against the dollar, which he attributed to economic measures by the United States government and an increase in Paraguayan agricultural exports. This appreciation directly reduced revenue in dollar terms.
The minister emphasized that structural state spending—public employee salaries and social programs—was not affected. He stated that since March, tax revenues have been recovering, a trend that continued in April and is expected to last through the end of the year.
Lovera recalled that a partial debt payment plan was agreed upon with suppliers of road infrastructure and medicines. Between April and May, the state was to pay $180 million to suppliers of the Ministry of Public Works and $150 million to those of the Ministry of Health. By the end of April, $100 million and $85 million had been paid, respectively.