Only two weeks after its enactment (March 25), Congress decided to repeal Law 6,900/2,022, which establishes subsidies for the state oil company Petropar.
The bill established that part of the financing was going to be achieved with the elimination of fuel vouchers for all congressmen, in addition to other redirections. The initiative required US$20 million per month to be able to subsidize Petropar’s 206 service stations.
Discounts were applied to two types of fuels; type III diesel and 93 octane gasoline. If the Executive promulgates the document, the legislators will recover their fuel vouchers and Petropar prices will increase again by G. 1,000 and G. 800 per liter in the mentioned types of fuel.
SENATE
In an extraordinary session, the Chamber of Senators approved the document with 30 votes out of 7 against and 8 absentees.
Enrique Salyn Buzarquis, national senator for the PLRA, pointed out that the reduction of the Selective Consumption Tax (ISC) was one of the proposed alternatives to mitigate the impact of the rise in the international price of barrels of oil.
“Whatever the subsidy is, it was going to be for the benefit of the consumer, but since it was so distorted, let’s give the benefits to everyone or not give it to anyone. We are breaking a constitutional principle of equal opportunities,” he stated.
DEPUTIES
Previously, during siesta hours, in an extraordinary session, the Chamber of Deputies had to deal with the project “That creates the stabilization fund for the price of petroleum-derived fuels in the Republic of Paraguay and establishes transitory contingency measures for the import diesel/diesel type III/type C and virgin naphtha; and repeals Law 6,900 of March 25, 2022.”
This treatment was going to be the third, after two failed attempts to treat it last week due to lack of the necessary quorum (Thursday and Friday).
The deputies decided to eliminate 21 of the 22 articles, leaving only the repeal of Law 6,900, which establishes the subsidy to Petropar.
This occurred after pressure from truck drivers who warned of a general strike in the country, in case a new loan of US$ 100 million was materialized to subsidize private fuel emblems for 30 days.
