MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay: Anti-corruption bill signed into law

“Today we take a step that will make a difference in our path towards a more integral and just Paraguay,” said Peña

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Tuesday signed into law the so-called “National Regime of Integrity, Transparency and Prevention of Corruption of the Republic of Paraguay” during a ceremony in Asunción attended by dignitaries of the other two branches of Government.

“Today we take a step that will make a difference in our path towards a more integral and just Paraguay. We enact the Law ”Establishing the National Regime of Integrity, Transparency and Prevention of Corruption of the Republic of Paraguay“. More than a norm, it is a commitment with every Paraguayan who dreams of a more transparent and developed country,” Peña said.

With the new law, the Comptroller General of the Republic has been entrusted with undertaking a preventive approach to the issue: “The Comptroller's Office must continue auditing public spending, the Prosecutor's Office must continue charging and criminally prosecuting the corrupt and the Judiciary must convict them and people must go to jail, that is a reality, but corruption must also be fought in a preventive way, not only repressive, because evidently, the repressive system alone does not work,” Camilo Benítez, the man holding that position, explained.

The measure came into force just as a new report on Paraguayan corruption from the US State Department became public. The document addressed the investment climate in the South American country where corruption and impunity remain significant hurdles for economic development. Despite an average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 2.8% in the last decade and a legal framework that favors foreign investment, the report points out that judicial insecurity and sloppy law enforcement discourage investors.

“Rampant impunity and corruption continue to hamper Paraguay's economy, which ranks at or below average on most competitiveness indicators,” reads part of the brief.

On the other hand, Paraguay boasts a promising economic outlook, with sustained growth in the last decade and significant potential for the future. The agricultural, energy, commercial, and construction sectors are the main drivers of this expansion.

The paper notes that the government has implemented favorable policies for foreign investment, offering tax incentives, facilitating the repatriation of capital, and ensuring equitable treatment for foreign investors.

Despite “several steps to improve the investment climate, including the passage of laws addressing money laundering, competition, public sector payroll disclosure and access to information, ... several US companies continue to have problems working with government offices to resolve investment disputes, including the government's unwillingness to pay its debts,” the report mentioned.

In this regard, Peña admitted that “we have some differences with the State Department” and insisted those conclusions had been reached with outdated data.