This Thursday, the president of Paraguay, Santiago Penainsisted with his country’s claim for the collection of tolls in the Paraná waterway before an international organization. This time it was in front of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), an organization that continues to be chaired by the Uruguayan Luis Almagro.
After what was an improvement in diplomatic relations, which had been strained to the point that Paraguay interrupted the energy supply of the binational plant Yacyretá -the neighboring country does not use all of its quota and transfers that production to the Argentina– Santiago Pena seeks international allies through diplomatic channels. The Paraguayan president would reiterate his demand at the meeting of presidents of the Mercosurscheduled for next December 6 in Brazil.
On September 28, both countries established a deadline 60 trading dayswhich contemplates the formation of a expert commission to evaluate the distribution of investments for carrying out works in the waterway and global collection experience tolls by navigability of rivers.
However, at the headquarters of the OAS in Washington, Grief maintained that “our Mediterranean nature makes the fight for these values inexcusable and a state questionhe foreign trade is key as it is a source of generation of employment“.”Paraguay It is one of the countries most open to tradebut it must be free of restrictions and with a focus cooperativewithout impositions of unfair unilateral measures,” he added.
In this context, he described “temporary dissent“the relationship with” the sister country of the Argentina“, and he was optimistic about the resolution of the conflict: “Just as in the past that noble country welcomed so many illustrious Paraguayans, I am sure that its authorities will understand the importance of free navigability, and soon we will be in the understanding that characterized our history.”
On the other hand, he anticipated one of his proposals for the summit of the Mercosur: the construction of a intercontinental highway. “A great highway of 3200 kilometersthe largest project of integration of the Americas and the possibility of generating tremendous development in the coming years,” he explained.
Who is Santiago Peña, the new president of Paraguay
Winner of the internal elections of the National Republican Association (ANR, the official name of Colorado), Peña, born in Asunción in 1978, son of an Argentine woman, became the father of a boy at the age of 17, already in a relationship with Leticia Ocampo. And just a year later he had a second daughter.
He graduated in Economics from the Catholic University capital at the age of 23 and just two years later he achieved a master in Public Administration at Columbia University, in New York.
By then he had already been an analyst for the Industrial Development Fund at only 21 years old and worked for the Paraguayan Central Bank.
In 2009 he was required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, to serve as economist responsible for countries in Africa.
Places of weight for someone who, when asked about his childhood, responded that “he was a street person.” He also declared himself a fan of Milanese with puree.
In 2012 it was elected member of the BCP board for five years and in 2015, The then President Cartes summoned him to be the Minister of Finance.
He was barely 37 years old and since the president demanded that all officials be affiliated with the ruling party, the economist had to take the leap: until then affiliated with the opposition Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA) – the party of his main adversary today, Efraín Alegre -, he renounced the force to sign the red token.
Peña was a teacher at UCA and has published some research works in areas of monetary policy and finance.
He had already tried to fight for the presidency of the country in 2018, but then lost the internal party elections to Abdo Benítez. Already in those days some opponents considered him a puppet of Cartes.
There is no doubt about the proximity: The elected president has been director, since March 2018, of the Basa bank, owned by the Cartes group.
fan of Olympia, Now the vice of sports in the gym and paddle tennis is emerging, but he knew how to play rugby and even joined the local team, with which he played in several South American tournaments and two World Cups.
In a conservative country with a strong sexist tradition, Peña breaks with the general line of the ANR: he is favorable to equal marriage and even declared that it is necessary to discuss the right to abortion without prejudice.
At the international level, he gave a couple of definitions to the AFP agency: he announced that he would maintain relations with Taiwan (Paraguay is one of the few countries in the region that has links with the island), he called for “deepening the integration process within Mercosur “and deemed it “fundamental” to achieve the EU-Mercosur agreement.
After winning the internal elections, he did not achieve the traditional “republican embrace” with which the winner and the defeated seal the end of the dispute in the ANR. It will now be his turn to restore those wounds so that the Congress that emerged from today’s elections will accompany his management.
“I want Paraguay to be a more developed, fairer country, to be a leading country in the region and the world. I am convinced that we can generate greater benefits for all Paraguayans,” explains Peña on his personal website. Since August, words will be of little use.
Source: Ambito
