On September 14, the official launch of Juan Benítez’s candidacy for senator for the Partido Patria Querida (PPQ) was held.
Benítez is a new figure in politics, a 43-year-old dentist by profession. He affirms that he is committed to bringing all his experience to the Senate, where he stated that he will promote projects related to access to health for all Paraguayans, focused on the most disadvantaged sectors, proposing self-management, teamwork and empowerment for the community development. His list is 8, option 26.
Who is Juan Benitez?
Juan Benítez is a dentist who went to work in the interior, in the Paraguayan Chaco. And there he saw many needs of the population. He helped those needs, were palliated or resolved in some way at the time. In that sense, at that time, he made me see a different vision than what I was used to here in the capital. When I went to the field I saw other different things, things that motivated me to work in politics today.
In which town did you go to work?
I was working in Puerto Pinasco, which is a district of the department of Presidente Hayes, located 600 kilometers from the capital. The road is made up of 400 kilometers of asphalt and 200 kilometers of dirt. There is another way to get there, which is through the Paraguay River, sailing 22 hours from Concepción to that district. I was working for about two years, I met a lot of good people, people who give you even what they don’t have. We work in health, in education, in the sanitation board, we provided drinking water in 24 hours to the community. We work on the determining factors that make the population suffer from diseases such as diarrhea, and others preventable with the application of vaccines.
Why do you want to be a deputy?
My experience in the interior was very beautiful and that gives me the opportunity to transmit a message of hope to the population that living better is possible. That is why I decided to run with Sebastián Villarejo as president for 2023, with the construction of a country where people can have education, health, where they can bring bread to their tables every day. That they can go for a walk without the fear of being mugged. That they have security, transportation 24 hours to get to their homes, that they have economy, work, that is the message of hope that we want to transmit in the Dear Fatherland Party.
Why did you choose Patria Querida?
I traveled and travel a lot. Many people are tired of traditional parties. When you tell people about these games, many show their dislikes. So I decided to focus on other options and I see that the Patria Querida party has the characteristics, it is also not a significantly corrupt party, quite the contrary, it is a significantly patriotic party. The people I have met within their ranks have not had any complaints of corruption for what I was investigating.
What will be your axes of work if you are elected?
First, I want to be a faithful controller of misused resources. My main focus is health through education. We are passionate about education along with our candidate for president. In this sense, we are going to work to increase the General Expenditure Budget for health and education. We have a lag of 3.5% for education and 3.75% for health. Since it is recommended that 6.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) be reached. And those about legislation. Laws that are not applied. The teacher is charged with a lot of work and they forget about his training, for which they should be 100% prepared to educate the children in this case. Health and education are the main pillars for which I want to work.
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DATA SHEET
Full name: Juan Ramon Benitez Rios.
Date of Birth: 11/08/78 (43 years old).
Place of birth: Assumption.
Primary and secondary education: Apostolic College San José de Asunción and then at the Colêgio Educação Dinâmica de Foz de Iguazu, Brazil. He returned to the country to do his SMO in the Cavalry, receiving the title of reserve cavalry second lieutenant.
University studies: Doctor of dentistry at the Universidad del Norte (UniNorte).
Family: He has four children, he is accompanied.
Hobbies: Outdoor sport, nature. He is passionate about climbing mountains.
