Senator Celeste Amarilla (PLRA) expressed strong distrust of the electronic voting system and the use of open lists in Paraguay, just three weeks before internal elections. In forceful statements, she said: “I do not trust. I will present myself with Jesus on my lips and let it be whatever God wants.”
The parliamentarian criticized the Superior Court of Electoral Justice (TSJE) and party leaders, accusing the audits of computer systems of lacking true democratic exercise and excluding minorities. She warned of the possibility of fraud orchestrated through irregular data loading and violation of the popular will at polling stations. “I know they will deceive me, deceive my party, in this internal election; they will rig the ballot boxes,” she declared.
The senator also argued that the open-list model favors only structures with greater economic power, to the detriment of the debate of ideas. She lamented the degradation of the current parliament compared to traditional figures who accessed office through the closed system. “In this list, ‘Chaqueñito’ enters above Tito Saguier. Does that seem right to you? Yamy Nal entered and Tito Saguier did not,” she questioned, advocating a return to closed lists.
Finally, Amarilla distanced herself from the agenda of projects considered “filler” or irrelevant, which, according to her, undermine the dignity and credibility of the Legislature before a population suffering from severe basic deficiencies. She urged her colleagues to show more maturity in the face of the institutional crisis. “Today the country is collapsing from corruption: fake diplomas, medicines that do not exist… the country can no longer endure so much poverty and corruption, and we are discussing Vori Day,” she concluded.