The corridors of the National Congress were practically empty on this Wednesday, the eve of a public holiday and the Albirroja's World Cup debut. The scene, far from being an exception, reignited the debate over the high level of absenteeism in Paraguay's Legislative Branch, fueled by a regulation that allows staff to take up to 30 days off per year for "personal reasons."
The second vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, Jorge Ávalos Mariño, acknowledged that the combination of the holiday and the start of the World Cup accelerated the departure of lawmakers and staff from the capital. "Since tomorrow is already a holiday, I believe most of our colleagues are already in their home departments, especially because the World Cup has already started," he said. When asked whether legislative activity takes a back seat during events of this magnitude, he was blunt: "I don't want to say that, but at least for today, the priority is the World Cup."
Ávalos Mariño explained that the Chamber of Deputies' internal regulations allow up to five days of leave per month for personal reasons, with a cumulative cap of 30 days per year. "Often, employees save their personal leave to use on these days, usually when there is a long holiday weekend, to make the holiday even longer," he detailed. The lawmaker openly admitted that the system makes it easier to take so-called "puentazos" — the practice of extending weekends and holidays. "We have to acknowledge that it does, because they can simply claim personal reasons and then justify it afterward," he said.
According to the deputy, the requirements to access these leaves are minimal. "For personal reasons, that's all. It doesn't require much justification. They claim personal reasons and that's it, as long as they are within the allowed limit," he stated. He maintained that this type of absence is common in the lower house. "It's even normal, in the sense that this always happens," he declared.
Ávalos Mariño also acknowledged a gap between what the regulations establish and what actually occurs during sessions. He explained that any lawmaker wishing to leave before the session ends must request authorization from the floor, but admitted that this rule is not always followed. "Unfortunately, in practice, our colleagues just leave anyway," he noted. For the deputy, this is a problem that involves different caucuses rather than a specific political sector, and the regulation itself contributes to the situation by making it easy to justify absences.
In the Senate, there was more movement in both administrative offices and among lawmakers, with the main activity being a tribute by the Sports Committee to Paraguayan athletes. At the Chamber of Deputies, the director of Human Resources, Juan Brítez, was not in his office to comment on the level of absences, and the Senate's Human Talent Directorate stated that this type of data is only provided through requests on the transparency portal.