The Chamber of Senators approved the “Protocol for the elimination of illicit trade in tobacco products” bill. It is now in the Chamber of Deputies for study and consideration. Although the agenda is only defined today, Monday, there is a possibility that it will already be dealt with this week.
Édgar Acosta, a national deputy for the Liberal Party (PLRA), warned that Chartism in the Lower House is very strong, considering that its leader, Horacio Cartes, is the main tobacco businessman in the country.
“They are going to talk to colleagues. Hopefully it can be approved. What they want to attack is illicit trade. There are no arguments against fighting illegality. This will only serve so that there are better controls. There are no arguments against it. That there may be interests so that it does not come out, it must be recognized that it is so, ”he said.
He pointed out that Chartism has allies within the PLRA, but that does not give it enough strength to support or reject a project, so they need the ruling party to have the necessary votes.
“The trend that comes from the Senate is that the project can be approved. There is no argument to reject a protocol that seeks transparency,” she stated.
BUZARCHIS
Antonio Buzarquis, a national deputy also for the PLRA, affirmed for his part that what was approved in the Senate represents a great step.
“I cannot assure you that we will have the numbers, but several legislators will support it. I cannot give you the certainty that it will be approved, but there are many possibilities, ”he said.
It should be remembered that for the approval of the document only a simple majority of those present is needed, that is, half plus one.
«We are going to see if there is coherence in the discourse of the ruling party. I heard the President of the Republic speak about money laundering businesses. Above all, the Government makes announcements of cigarette requisitions, hopefully the caucus of ‘Republican Force’ is consistent, ”he said.
MAZZOLENI
Julio Mazzoleni, former Minister of Health, analyzed this issue on his social networks. In short, he celebrated the half sanction of the Chamber of Senators.
He pointed out that this represents a very important advance and warned that the tobacco industry lobby is very powerful, to the point that it managed to postpone this and other actions that had left the country far behind in the measures to combat smoking.
“Let us remember that the President of the Republic had signed the protocol at the request of the Ministry of Health in December 2018, when it was presented to the National Congress, where it must be ratified,” he said.
From the tobacco sector they affirm that the only thing that the protocol will generate is the proliferation of illegal tobacco companies. In this regard, the former Minister of Health, responded that this represents the natural story of those who are defending the non-traceability of contraband and all related illegal actions.
“There is a study in Paraguay that shows that there are nine deaths per day due to tobacco. The delegate of the framework agreement who was visiting the Parliament warned that the tobacco routes are the same as those of drug trafficking”, he commented.
Finally, he explained that anything that increases the rise of the tobacco industry and its impact on the population causes enormous damage to health.
“It is estimated that tax revenues are in the order of US$ 60 million a year from tobacco, but the data generated on the health system is triple that amount. It’s important for people to know that we have the second lowest rate in America and one of the lowest in the world. We are in the order of 20% and I think it should be around 60%”, she concluded.
