Opposition lawmakers question the continuity of a parallel collection scheme in Asunción

Opposition lawmakers Raúl Benítez, Johanna Ortega and Rocío Vallejo questioned the continuity of a parallel collection scheme at the Municipality of Asunción and said that, despite the replacement of Óscar “Nenecho” Rodríguez by Luis Bello, there were no substantive changes.

According to ABC Color, Benítez said that there are complaints in the municipality linked to the so-called asphalt mafia, the fuel mafia and alleged pressure tactics against merchants. In that context, he raised questions about who collects, for whom it is collected and whom it protects, and warned that the city cannot continue operating under those codes.

Ortega, for her part, lamented that merchants are pressured to obtain resources outside formal channels and said, according to ABC Color, that those parallel cash schemes would be aimed at financing political campaigns. She also called for a chain of responsibility to be established within the municipality.

Vallejo again focused, according to ABC Color, on the destination of the 500 billion corresponding to the administration of Óscar “Nenecho” Rodríguez. The lawmaker said that, one year after his departure and with Luis Bello at the head of the mayor’s office, there are still no details about those funds, while complaints continue to pile up over new cases within the municipality.

The three lawmakers submitted in the Chamber of Deputies a draft resolution repudiating the parallel collection scheme in the Consumer Protection Directorate. Still according to ABC Color, both that initiative and requests for information related to the administration of Luis Bello were approved by the full chamber.

Sources

• ABC Color

About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do original reporting on this fact.