Tomás Bogado, a resident of Puerto Carrizal in the Atinguy settlement, reported that despite repeated requests for cleanup of the Paraná River submitted to the Yacyretá Binational Entity (EBY), the entity has not responded so far. The presence of algae has prevented fishermen from working for several months, and the situation is worsening with the low temperatures typical of the season.
“We are not beggars to be satisfied with food baskets; we want work and to be able to earn our own money,” Bogado said. He stressed that the lack of fishing activity prevents families from obtaining resources for sustenance, medicine, clothing, and essential services.
Since November 2025, the fishermen have submitted requests to EBY that include cleaning the river, generating jobs through purchase orders (POs), and delivering food kits – the latter benefit has already been granted to the sector. In March of this year, with the support of fishermen's associations, new notes were sent to the Paraguayan director of EBY, Luis Benítez, reiterating the demands, but according to Bogado, they received no concrete responses.
The Atinguy community, located downstream from the Aña Cuá spillway, faces a crisis that combines the algae bloom and the sharp drop in the Paraná River level, aggravated by rising fuel prices, which further increases the cost of fishing.