Paraguayan social movements energy sovereignty protests

In Paraguay, social, peasant, and labor organizations have organized to demand energy sovereignty and improved electricity access. During a plenary session in Asunción at the SITRANDE headquarters, approximately twenty groups, including the Movimiento Campesino Paraguayo (MCP) and the Confederación de la Clase Trabajadora (CCT), debated electricity as a human right and the defense of national energy assets.

Participants expressed opposition to the privatization of the Administración Nacional de Electricidad (ANDE), the current energy regulatory model, and subsidies for energy-intensive companies. They also criticized indiscriminate power outages. Organizers announced plans for a large-scale mobilization of 30,000 people at the ANDE headquarters to demand lower Itaipú tariffs, the integration of Itaipú social expenses into the national budget, and the implementation of an expanded social tariff law.

In response to the ongoing energy debate, Miguel Ángel Báez Reyes, president of ANDE, warned that the state utility faces significant financial obstacles. He stated that selling energy below operating costs prevents the institution from securing the margins necessary to fund major infrastructure projects. Báez Reyes noted that while the entity currently executes between Gs. 300 and 400 million annually in infrastructure, the actual operational requirement is approximately Gs. 1,000 million, a figure he deemed unfeasible without state sovereign guarantees.

Báez Reyes also rejected the idea of the state subsidizing large-scale private projects, such as the Atome proposal, arguing that long-term contracts with reduced rates contradict global energy market trends. He suggested adopting consumption models similar to Brazil, utilizing time-of-use tariffs to encourage efficiency.