Mario Abdo Benítez, President of the Republic, will travel to the Vatican (Rome, Italy), for the creation of the first Paraguayan Cardinal Adalberto Martínez. Around 11:40 a.m. today, Thursday, the formal farewell ceremony will begin and the transfer of command to Vice President Hugo Velázquez with the delivery certificate. The takeoff of the presidential plane bound for Sao Paulo, Brazil will take place around 12 noon.
In Brazil, around 5:30 p.m. in our country, the national president will travel on a commercial flight to Rome, Italy. “There is no meeting agenda with the pope, but as our ambassador Leticia Casati said, the pope will greet the heads of state, they may have a brief talk, but not a formal interview,” said Julio Echagüe, Director General of the State Ceremonial .
On Sunday at 8:00 am in Rome (2:00 am in our country), the Cardinal’s first mass will be celebrated, after which they will have a breakfast with the Paraguayan community and other guests of Monsignor Martínez. The delegation is made up of Silvana Abdo, first lady of the nation, Carlos María López. President of the Chamber of Deputies, Nicanor Duarte Frutos, head of the Yacyretá Binational Entity (EBY), and his wife María Gloria Penayo, Julio Arriola, National Chancellor and his wife Adriana Arza de Arriola, Carolina Llanes, Minister of the Court and his son Álvaro Rojas, Ricardo Zárate Rojas, Minister of Education (MEC), Carlos Arregui, Minister of Seprelad, Mónica Seifart, member of the Judicial Council and her husband Felipe Santiago Martínez, Mauricio Espínola, Abdo’s private secretary and his wife Natalia Magalí Arce, Ana María Zubizarreta, Senior Clerk of the Government, and Alfredo Ratti Jaeggli, former Ambassador to the Holy See. There are a total of 10 government officials and added their relatives total 16 people. Participants represent their institutions.
“Each member of the entourage pays for the tickets as well as the stay,” explained the ceremonial director, when asked about the possible waste of resources that this trip could generate. The president’s return to the country is expected for Sunday 28 at 8:30 p.m.
BUZARCHIS
Salyn Buzarquis, a national senator for the PLRA, stated that he is in favor of austerity. “The President of the Republic can invite whoever he wants, as long as it is not at the expense of the State. I don’t know if they will pay the cost of their tickets and travel expenses. I believe that with the presence of the President of the Republic and his wife, it is enough and more than enough, ”she said.
COURT
Carlos Benítez, budget director of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), announced that the institution will only pay the per diem for Minister Carolina Llanes and not for her son, who will participate in the trip to the Vatican from August 26 to 30. The amount is G 19,215,252, at the rate of US$ 400 per day (G. 2,760,000).
