Rogelio de Ríos, pre-candidate for the Municipal Board of Encarnación, announced that he secured a commitment from the Ministry of Urbanism, Housing and Habitat to send a technical team to the city to begin registering potential beneficiaries of housing programs. The announcement came after a meeting held in Asunción with Minister Juan Carlos Baruja.
De Ríos said the meeting served to align strategies between the future municipal administration and the ministry, aiming to expand access to affordable housing for families in Encarnación. “We were agreeing on strategies and plans to put into operation from the municipality as soon as we arrive. There is already a plan for the ministry to approach the city of Encarnación to materialize these ideas,” he stated.
The pre-candidate highlighted that the minister committed to sending staff to conduct a kind of census and application process for interested people. “The minister committed to sending a team to begin a kind of census and application for people interested in accessing housing,” he said.
De Ríos also argued for the need to decentralize procedures and improve communication with the public. “Often there are programs, but people do not find out about them or do not know how to access them. We want to create a direct relationship between the city hall, the ministry and the citizens, without intermediaries,” he said.
The pre-candidate also noted the positive reception of the initiative among residents of different sectors of Encarnación, calling access to housing a “long-postponed” need. “Many people came forward to thank us for this effort because there is really a huge need and a lack of someone to take care of bringing these opportunities closer to people,” he concluded.