MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay changes into GMT-4 Daylight Saving Time

Chile will rearrange its watches during the first Saturday of April.

Paraguay has moved into “winter time” Sunday on the advice of the National Electricity Administration, which seeks to curb consumption. It has thus become the only Mercosur country living under a GMT (or UTC) -4 time zone, while Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil are GMT -3.

The only other country in the region to use the Daylight Saving Time (DST) scheme during the Summer months is Chile, which will also go back to GMT -4 as of April 3.

A recent bill to live all year round at GMT -4 has failed to make it through Paraguay's Congress.

Years ago, Argentina used to have a DST, but the last time it was put in practice (2009), there were no significant changes in electricity consumption, in addition to many provinces affected in different ways by the time change. There were also years in which time was changed in some provinces, while in others it was not, thus adding to the country's inbred confusion.

Chile will rearrange its watches during the first Saturday of April.