Paraguay’s President Mario Abdo Benitez asked all the ministers of his government to resign this Saturday, after the demonstration in protest at his management of the pandemic ended in riots.
The representative had this morning his meeting with his closest collaborators at Mburuvicha Roga’s presidential residence to “assess yesterday’s situations” and prepare a message to the public for some point on Saturday, as The Minister of Information and Communication Technologies, Juan Manuel Brunetti, informed the media.
“That’s the specific message: the president listened to the public, summoned his Cabinet, and asked them to make their position available,” Brunetti said.
On Friday night there were clashes between protesters and police in the center of the capital, Asunción, who were injured with twenty. Protesters, who initially protested peacefully over the lack of medical supplies, threw stones at the officers, who in turn responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. Abdo Benitez respects peaceful protests, Brunetti said.
The spokesman insisted that Abdo Benitez had received “the message of citizenship,” even though what protesters were calling for the exit of the entire Executive, starting with the president himself, and not changes of ministers.
Brunetti also advanced that it will be the head of state who announces ministerial departures at the time he “has concrete facts to communicate to the public.” “The president has the best willingness that this second period of government is a good period, we can regain the confidence of the public and we can do the best management possible,” he added.
The South American state’s health system is on the brink of collapse. Recently, the government had to admit that there is a shortage of medicines to treat patients with covid-19 and that almost all beds in intensive care units in public hospitals are occupied.
Health Minister Julio Mazzoleni resigned Friday due to public pressure. So far, some 165,000 people in Paraguay have been infected with coronavirus and more than 3,200 patients have died with the disease it causes, COVID-19, the Ministry of Health said.
