Paraguay
Lilian Samaniego Linked María Teresa Barán’s Departure to the Agreement Signed with Doctors
The senator said the removal of the former health minister was related to the understanding reached on September 10 to try to halt resignations and a doctors’ strike. She also called for immediate answers from the new head of the ministry, Isaías Fretes.
Colorado Senator Lilian Samaniego said that María Teresa Barán’s departure from the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare was linked to the agreement signed on September 10 with specialist doctors who had submitted their resignations, according to ABC Color.
According to the legislator, Barán allowed her to sign that document, which sought to contain the mass resignations and avoid the strike announced by medical unions for September 21 and 22. Samaniego said that was the event that triggered the dismissal.
ABC Color noted that the agreement drew criticism from different sectors, including the National Doctors’ Union, which is leading the demand for a salary increase of G. 3 million for each 12-hour work shift.
The senator also praised the former minister’s role in negotiations with health professionals and said her intervention helped open dialogue with those who had resigned. However, she stressed that attention must now focus on resolving the sector’s crisis.
After Isaías Fretes arrived at the Ministry of Health, Samaniego called on him to respond quickly to doctors’ demands and questioned his tenure at the Social Security Institute. While she acknowledged his suitability, capacity, patriotism and honesty, she said that during his management at the social security agency he did not promote substantive changes and left the structure inherited from Jorge Brítez’s administration unchanged, which is now facing legal problems, according to ABC Color.
Regarding the appointment of Derlis León at the helm of the IPS, the legislator wished him success and said he knows the institution in depth after holding different positions there for more than a decade. She also said the social security agency has sufficient resources to address its situation without resorting to new loans or extraordinary state contributions.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
