The government of Santiago Peña used the World Cup as an opportunity to direct public funds to media outlets aligned with the Executive Branch, according to allegations from Senator Yolanda Paredes. The "Somos Paraguaio, Somos Gigantes" campaign, coordinated by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (Mitic), is alleged to have concentrated advertisements on channels like Trece, Versus, GEN, and Unicanal, which belong to the government-aligned Vázquez Group.
The funds, originating from the Itaipú Binacional and the Yacyretá Binational Entity, were used to air advertisements during match broadcasts and on social media. Senator Paredes described the lack of control in the use of these funds as "disgusting," stating they could have been allocated to areas like healthcare, where there is a shortage of medicines and poor service.
The Vázquez Group, through the company V Media SA, recently expanded its media conglomerate with the acquisition of channels Trece and Unicanal, adding to the newspapers and radio stations it already controls. The campaign is alleged to have begun in April, even before the official announcement of the acquisitions, with placements in sports programs and World Cup coverage.
Paredes accused the government of using the binational entities as a "petty cash" fund to promote its image, bypassing the controls of the General National Budget. She also criticized projects that would allocate 1.5 billion guaranis to digital influencers while basic problems in public healthcare persist.
Mitic, led by Minister Gustavo Villate and Vice Minister Alejandra Duarte Albospino, is identified as responsible for executing the funds, which are allegedly being managed with little transparency, without the agreements being published on the official website, in violation of the Active Transparency Law.