Paraguayan Senator Esperanza Martínez strongly criticized what she called the "tragedy" of the country's political system, stating that honest individuals are treated as a problem while corruption is tolerated. In an interview with broadcaster El Observador Radio-TV, the lawmaker declared that the system "spits out" and expels those who act correctly because they become a nuisance for those practicing influence peddling. "The honest are the problem, not the corrupt. That is Paraguay's tragedy," she emphasized.
Martínez expanded her accusations, stating that there are senators, deputies, governors, and ministers linked to drug trafficking who finance their campaigns with illicit money without being detected by the Electoral Justice system. She highlighted that none of the elected officials who later face criminal proceedings are punished. For the senator, the clearest way to identify corruption is to observe the discrepancy between public salaries and luxurious lifestyles. She used her own salary of 37 million guaranis as an example, questioning how a public official could acquire properties valued at millions of dollars without resorting to embezzlement.
The lawmaker cited institutions such as the Secretariat for Money Laundering Prevention (Seprelad) and the Economic Crimes Prosecutor's Office as entities that should investigate these abrupt changes in lifestyle. She also mentioned the Customs Administration and state-owned Petropar as places where signs of illicit enrichment would be evident, citing as an example the debutante party of a governor from the Concepción department.
Martínez described Paraguayan society as "hypocritical," where the same people involved in corruption schemes socialize publicly in clubs and events. She warned that impunity allows these individuals, with resources to finance major campaigns and buy votes, to continue dominating the political scene. As a solution, the senator advocated for a civic awakening, suggesting that the population should socially reject the corrupt. "The day when the person who earned their money through sacrifice says 'I won't sit at a barbecue with corrupt people,' things will change," she concluded, pointing to the lack of social and legal penalties as the core of the problem.