This Sunday, Mario Abdo Benítez, President of the Republic, and Julio César Arriola, National Foreign Minister, will attend the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva as the new president of Brazil. The meeting will be with Mauro Viera, the new foreign minister of the neighboring country.
Eusebio Ayala, a national senator for the PLRA, questioned in the first place that there was a unilateral decision by the Government of Brazil on an issue that is its responsibility and corresponds to the Board of Directors of the Itaipu Binational, where Paraguayans and Brazilians are on an equal footing.
This is in relation to the decision made by Adolfo Sachsida, Minister of Mines and Energy, and Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil, on the reduction of the tariff by 38.9%, saving 9 billion reais for Brazilian consumers.
“This violates the Itaipu treaty because it cannot unilaterally make such a decision, however, it did. Neither the chancellor of Paraguay nor the president of the republic reacted to the violation of the treaty, ”he said.
He argued that a serious event occurs, not only because of the economic consequence but also because Brazil imposes its conditions and unilaterally communicates a situation.
RENT
The National Electricity Administration (ANDE) for 2024 contracted 15% of Itaipu’s power, so there is a surplus of 35% of what corresponds to Paraguay that can be sold to the foreign market.
The senator affirms that our country needs that this surplus energy has a significant increase, not at a compensation price, of “gift” as it is currently set.
“Secondly, we need free availability of that energy to be able to sell it freely to the Brazilian or Argentine market. That should require the government. Today we are not in a position to use all the energy, so we must sell at a fair price. We have a sell-out policy, with this criteria they are going to face the negotiation next year, Paraguay is in a state of defenselessness in this regard, ”he commented.
CANASE
Mercedes Canese, an expert in energy, affirmed for her part that the first thing that must be negotiated is sovereignty. This means that Brazil pays the fair price for energy, and not a subsidized price, which is what happens today.
“Above all, we have Brazil’s announcement of a unilateral tariff reduction. Let’s hope they don’t have it because Abdo has already relented on that point. Another very important aspect is that of debt. During the Lugo government, we questioned the spurious debt that benefited 98% of Brazilian companies, but we are paying it in equal parts”, he pointed out.
He recalled the report published by the Comptroller’s Office in 2019, which revealed that from 2008 to 2022, our country is paying US$1 billion of spurious debt. This represents some US$ 14 billion that must be claimed from Brazil.
“The main points have to be the advancement of energy sovereignty. Not pay debts, to receive some US$3.5 billion a year to improve electrical infrastructure, have electric means of transportation, and other advances in the country,” he said.
