Three pre-candidates for councilor in the capital denounced a scheme of parallel cash collection in Markets 4 and Abasto, as well as at the Asunción Bus Station. According to them, the system has been operating for more than eight or ten years and diverts funds that should go to the municipal coffers.
Elías Fleitas, pre-candidate for list 7 and former president of the Student Center of the Faculty of Law at the National University of Asunción, stated that the funds are used “as a tool to line pockets.” He criticized both former mayor Óscar “Nenecho” Rodríguez and current mayor Luis Bello, calling both “a disaster,” but emphasized that the councilors of the Municipal Board are also responsible. “No one knows who the councilors are, and none of them feel responsible for what is happening,” he declared.
Éver Escalante, pre-candidate for list 6 of the Colorado Añetete movement, stated that his team has already identified the corruption schemes. He denounced that in the Market 4 area, parallel collections reach 100 million guaranis per day, charged from informal traders. Escalante also mentioned the inspection of commercial patents and said that “the employees themselves take the bribe.”
Andrés Guerreño, also from list 7 and linked to the movement of Arnaldo Samaniego, said he identified a “pressure system” in various sectors of the municipality. He stated that during election season, the practice intensifies, as people prefer “to go along with it to have peace at work.” Guerreño added that often those demanding payments are not even municipal employees, but outsiders who have the “backing” of bosses and employees.
The pre-candidates stated that the scheme is “normalized” and that the lack of control is the main problem. They call for an investigation and measures to curb the practice.