The commitment made last week in this same space is to give continuity to the new elements that are emerging in a false debate about PARK OR UNIVERSITY, which seems to never end and which I tried to detail in this same column under the title of “LIARS”.
At this stage of the events, columnists, editorialists and whatever media outlet exists, have expressed and will express their opinion freely, except for those who obey the orders of the border businessman, the main manager of the University in the previous government, together with his Minister of Industry and Commerce, Gustavo Leite. The truth is that these days Horacio Cartes, out of prudence or for reasons that he surely has, has not said a word. Only the obedient scribes of their media, open the microphones and pages, without raising any type of question that will make them uncomfortable.
And all this energy loss for what? to deal with a question that, in other places on earth, long ago would have achieved both: one place for the Park and another for the University. The Park would provide space for recreation for university students, and the University would be investigating what strategies against fire are the best to prevent an accident like the one that has already occurred. This is natural for it to happen in a serious country, with credible institutions and officials detached from personal interests.
But let’s go back to the end of the note “Liars”. Last week the offer of the former Dean of the Polytechnic Faculty of the UNA, Teodoro Salas, circulated. There are not many explanations, but the truth is that no agreement was reached between the two Universities.
Second offer of the UNA
One of the issues that the Rector of the University of Taiwan has repeated in recent days is that all the offers were verbal and that there was no formal request.
On November 4, 2021, the Economist Carlino Velázquez, rector of the University of Taiwan, former BCP official and commissioned to the MOPC as current Vice Minister of Finance, addressed UPTP NOTE No. 90/2021 the former Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Ing. Rubén Alcides López Santa Cruz, “in order to request the support of the entity in his worthy position.” For reasons of space, I cannot copy the two-page note, but I will transcribe the salient parts: “For all of the above, considering the affinity of objectives and careers that they teach at CITEC and taking into account the physical space available in the aforementioned property…” to continue in another remarkable paragraph, “…in return, the UPTP offers the UNA to share the use of state-of-the-art and high-tech equipment…. In addition, there is the possibility of Scholarship (sic) to the best students of the sixth semester of the careers of FIUNA and CITEC with the careers that the UPTP teaches, being these, … for the areas of Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science.” And in another paragraph, to continue saying: “Regarding the construction of a new block, adjacent to the Electromechanical Engineering Pavilion, the UPTP could co-finance the work, in order to have the Bozzano Building, located on the San Lorenzo University Campus as a complement to the CITEC site, for a minimum term of 3 (three) years.”
Excuse my dear readers for the length of the quotes, but if anyone doubted or doubts the cordial relationship in this epistolary exchange, as has been revealed in the current statements of Rector Carlino Velázquez, this ending is a finishing touch worthy of our best exchanges. academics. Let’s see, “I am sure that they will know how to understand this need and cooperate so that together we can continue to forge the present and future of so many young people…etc. etc., which I beg you can be as soon as possible… we can successfully complete this year and receive the students of the year 2022 in the best possible way.”
UNA response
Former dean Alcides López Santa Cruz, meets his Board of Directors of the Faculty of Engineering of the UNA on December 22, 2021Act No. 1487/2021 and remits to the University of Taiwan on January 25, 2022, NOTE No. 014/2022, under the following tenor: “We inform you that the Board of Directors has proceeded to approve the signing of the Inter-institutional Agreement between the parties… in this way FIUNA expresses its interest in consolidating cooperation that promotes the higher education of Paraguayan youth, strengthening academic, professional, inter-institutional ties with organizations like yours.”
Only the photo and the ribbon cutting were missing. History will judge the rest, but it is my interest to convey to the students and the legitimate aspirations of their parents, a portion of the truth. And I only say one part, because the other must come to light in a timely manner from the very authorities whom they trusted from the Taiwanese Embassy.
This document was denied for a long time, perhaps too long. For this reason, the Parque Guasu radio program, CHE PYCASUMI, which is broadcast on Radio 1000 on Saturdays from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., wanted to investigate a little more and interviewed the former dean of FIUNA:
- Engineer, can you quote your offer to Taiwan University?
- Actually, they asked us by note and it was analyzed in the Board of Directors, but in the end they went to another place. We were going to deal with the space to build at another time.
And what was the place they gave him?
- existing spaces
- Where were they physically located?
- On the San Lorenzo campus and on the Isla Bogado campus in Luque.
- How was the treatment in the Board of Directors?
- I had raised this issue at the time and the CD preferred to postpone the treatment until it received an official request from the University of Taiwan. Only when the request was made official was it analyzed and discussed in the Board of Directors. We sent you the note with the decision of the CD and we did not receive a response.
- But in the notes there was full agreement, what happened?
- Really weird the whole ending. We had no official response, no call of thanks for the gesture.
I can not add anything to the interview and I have the same questions as you when you finish reading these paragraphs of lack of response to a Faculty of the UNA, which has completed 96 years of academic excellence.
WHAT DOES THE GUASU PARK HAVE THAT THE UNA UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING DOES NOT HAVE?
WHAT ARE THE REASONS THAT THE UNIVERSITY OF TAIWAN HIDDEN BEFORE SUCH GENEROUS ACADEMIC OFFER OF EXCHANGE OF KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT AND PHYSICAL SPACE?
IS IT NOT A GREAT GESTURE THAT THE OLDEST UNIVERSITY IN PARAGUAY WELCOMES A NEWLY ARRIVED UNIVERSITY, WHICH PROMISES TO BE ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD, WHEN IT STILL HAS NOT EVEN THE FIRST PROMOTION OF GRADUATES?
Faced with so many words, documents and unfortunate disagreements, I only have one small reflection left: “By their fruits you will know them.”
.fb-background-color { background: #ffffff !important; } .fb_iframe_widget_fluid_desktop iframe { width: 400px !important; }
The entrance building lies was first published in The Independent.
