Recent rains in the department of Alto Paraguay have once again flooded sections of the main route linking Fuerte Olimpo and Bahía Negra to the rest of the country, just days after its reopening. The road, which remained impassable for 31 days, was rehabilitated by volunteers from the locality of Toro Pampa with support from two machines and personnel from the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC).
The initial work consisted of draining 30 kilometers of flooded stretches, but the next step — loading earth and installing drainage pipes — was not completed. As a result, the most recent rainfall, although not intense, has again covered the critical points. Vehicles with 4x4 traction can still pass, but large trucks, such as those transporting cattle, get stuck and block the road.
On Tuesday, the Chamber of Deputies is set to vote on a bill for a departmental emergency declaration for Alto Paraguay, which has not yet received a committee opinion. The measure, according to local accounts, is seen as late and focused on distributing food kits during the electoral period, rather than addressing the structural problem: the lack of all-weather roads with proper embankments, ditches, and drainage systems.
Currently, there are no flooded communities in Alto Paraguay, unlike the Lower Chaco. What persists are precarious and damaged roads, which have never received permanent repairs. The emergency, if approved, risks having more electioneering purposes than solving the chronic isolation of the region.