Amid reports of medical negligence, poor service quality, and medication shortages, Paraguay's Social Security Institute (IPS) is undergoing a renewal of its board of directors. The new workers' representative, Mirtha Arias, took office on Tuesday, replacing Víctor Insfrán, and has already announced combating contribution evasion, especially in border cities, as a priority.
“One of the first proposals I would like to present is to focus on the employer contribution area. Why? Because, given the resource deficit, this is the area that can help us, by boosting and increasing the number of contributors,” Arias said in an interview. She highlighted that evasion is historical in these regions, where many workers operate informally, and that oversight needs to be constant and supported by technology.
To this end, Arias plans to use agreements already signed with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (Mitic) and the National Directorate of Tax Revenue (DNIT). “DNIT has a verification and control system for all companies. We need to check whether what is declared to IPS matches what is reported to DNIT, and from there, move forward with inspections,” she explained. According to labor sector data, evasion reaches nearly 20%, including formally registered companies that declare fewer employees than they actually have.
The maquila sector, which grew 35% in the last ten years and generated 18% more jobs in the past year, is one of the most reported. “In border cities like Salto del Guairá and Pedro Juan Caballero, workers always report to us: ‘we are here, we work so many hours, but we don’t have access to IPS’,” Arias reported, advocating for greater transparency and management to incorporate these contributors.
In addition to evasion, Arias recalled the central government's debt to IPS, estimated at US$ 641 million, and promised to demand from the board the payment of at least a portion, directing the resources to the health area. She also did not rule out a reform of IPS's organic charter, but considered that parametric changes, such as the retirement age, are not convenient at the moment. “Recently, we reformed the calculation period from 36 months to 10 years. We need to assess the impact of that before further changes,” she pondered.
The new councilor also mentioned the possibility of selling IPS properties to generate revenue and create a reserve, in addition to working with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to analyze the actuarial situation of the pension system. Arias's inauguration occurs less than a month after Isaías Fretes assumed the presidency of IPS on April 22, replacing Jorge Brítez.