Julio Rolón Vicioso is a candidate for the Senate for the “Republican Force” movement of the ANR (officialism). He ranks 33rd on the list for the Upper House. He affirms that he wants to be a senator to achieve positive changes in the field of Health.
Rolón left, after three years, the direction of the National Cancer Institute (INCAN) in August 2018 to take over as deputy minister of health. He was in the health portfolio for two years and nine months (until March 2021), until the resignation of Julio Mazzoleni, then Minister of Health. Three months he returns to INCAN as director, a position he currently holds.
Why did you decide to run for Senator?
I spent two years and nine months working with the Minister of Health Julio Mazzoleni, we interacted a lot with Parliament. Finally we came to the conclusion that this instance is essential to achieve high-impact changes, mainly in the field of health where I have more knowledge. I can contribute with my 25 years of experience in public health. Family and friends approved of my decision. From there we will start working with the future minister to meet the needs. Everything goes through decentralization, optimization of resources and a reengineering of the management and administration model. We want everything we do to have a high impact for people.
You run for the Colorado Party, which is being heavily criticized…
Yes, for the “Republican Force” movement, accompanying Mario Abdo Benítez for the presidency of the Governing Board of the ANR, Arnoldo Wiens, for president of the Republic and of course, I am on the list of senators in the option 33. The NRA today is not what was wanted at the beginning. There is always a division in terms of the highest leadership, there is a blur between the Governing Board and the reality of the co-religionists. In other words, that space that could be used for the debate on concepts, ideologies, became a corporation where you have to belong to a line to be able to be part of it. It gives the impression that the Colorado Party is kidnapped and the Governing Board is totally hampered.
When did the Colorado Party stop doing good?
I think that from the moment there was an important division between the leaders, prioritizing personal interests. We as a Government have suffered the division of the party. The Government would have been different if it enjoyed the institutional support of the ANR. It would have been a very important space to discuss projects and ideas to be implemented. Today the party is a corporation that is used to strengthen its movement and keeps it away from government management. What the citizens see is that the Colorado Party is responsible for this situation, beyond the Government. We cannot separate the party from the management of the Government. We are all responsible from the point of view of who installed whom.
How did you take the US designations?
Here you have to understand something, the United States is a sovereign country, they have the right to issue opinions based on documentary reality. They will have your documents. From the point of view of our movement, we acted correctly because Hugo Velázquez put the movement before his personal aspirations. The situation is different from the other side where a person is declared responsible for facts (by Cartes), but this did not generate anything, even leading to the level of questioning the statements of an ambassador of a country that is in search of protect the whole world, without us having to submit. Velázquez’s attitude was quite consistent and worth noting.
Who is Julio Rolón Vicioso?
I am a doctor graduated from the National University of Asunción (UNA). Then I opted for the specialization in pediatrics. I did my residency at the Social Security Institute (IPS). In the public sector I always turned to management, I ventured into the unions. My great frustration was not having been a footballer, which was my dream. When Fernando Lugo was inaugurated in 2008, Esperanza Martínez, then Minister of Health, asked me to collaborate with her. I accepted with four conditions; not change parties, that he does not send me people with profiles that are not medical, or health care, that allows me to manage and finally that there is no political interference, in the end, he fulfilled everything. For me, Esperanza Martínez was a good Minister of Health.
