Santiago Peña (Asunción, 1978) visited Spain last week to promote two projects in search of funding. One, called the Resurgence of the Giant, and the other, focused on the green hydrogen sector, which aim to position the country at the epicenter of South America and on the international agenda in the field of energy and investment . Peña gave an interview to La Vanguardia during the visit to Barcelona.
What is the reason for the ambitious plan that calls Paraguay a “Giant”?
Paraguay’s current situation is far from the country’s potential. Paraguay cannot be compared to any country in Latin America, since, even without a maritime coast, it is surrounded by gigantic rivers that irrigate the land, which mobilize our products and produce clean and renewable energy. This puts Paraguay at the forefront as the only country in the world that has 100% of its energy from renewable sources and that exports 80% of the surplus energy it produces at competitive prices.
Throughout our history, we have gone from being the epicenter of the development of expeditions to, in 1864, being a nation attacked by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. These countries had the intention of eliminating Paraguay from the face of the earth, but they could not. After the war, we were left to our own devices by international support, which explains why our recovery process has been so slow.
This process is comparable to the journey that Moses made for forty years towards the promised land, in which he made many rounds trying to get rid of bad habits. Paraguay is in this process and this is where the name “Resurgir del Gigante” comes from.
And after the historical perspective of the country, how is the situation in Paraguay at the moment?
After 35 years since we returned to democracy, we have shown that we have a simpler and more agile political system than that of our neighbors, Brazil and Argentina. This efficiency explains the economic growth we are experiencing, attracting new investments and generating employment, although we believe that this has barely just begun.
Paraguay is landlocked and needs neighboring countries to export. How is the relationship with neighbors Javier Milei and Lula da Silva?
She’s gorgeous. Paraguay has historical roots that have allowed Paraguayan society to have a balance and feel neither seduced by the right, nor intimidated by the left. This balance has allowed Paraguay to have an excellent relationship with Brazil and with the president of Argentina. Personally, I have a great relationship with Lula da Silva, as well as with Milei, even if they don’t understand each other.
Will the green hydrogen project have any repercussions on the electoral promise of lower fuel and energy prices?
Since we came to Government on August 15, we have lowered the price of fuel by nearly 20%. Obviously, the price is responsive to oil price fluctuations, but because Paraguay has lower tax rates [of 10%] than Brazil and Argentina, this allows us to have very high quality fuel at a more competitive price .However, in relation to green hydrogens, Paraguay is a destination for these new investments, due to our prices and the abundance of water there.
Continuing with the election promises, one was more security on the streets. How do you work on this?
The problem of security is the great challenge that all nations have; there is no development without security. In the case of Paraguay, we work together with Brazil and Argentina regarding the problem of transnational crime, strengthening control mechanisms. One of the internal measures has been to strengthen the Lince unit [a security body that acts with its face covered and without identification], capable of responding in 10 minutes. In addition, we have taken control of Tucumbú prison [the prison in the Paraguayan capital suffered a riot between October and December 2023] and redistributed the 600 most dangerous criminals, so we have decreased urban crime, which was under control from prisons.
And in relation to violence against women?
As for violence against women, we fight it, although, like all Latin American countries, we do little about it. We work to unite all the institutions so that they know how to address complaints made by women. In addition, we have promoted many women to higher positions within the national police and given them a different face within the police hierarchy. It’s an issue we take very seriously.
In the international arena, what is Paraguay’s view on the war between Russia and Ukraine?
Paraguay’s position regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine takes place within the framework of a very fluid political and economic relationship with Russia and non-existent with Ukraine, but in this conflict we raise our voice in support of Ukraine, because we feel there is a moral responsibility to speak up for a smaller country that has been invaded by a larger country.
Talking about conflicts inevitably makes us ask about Paraguay’s position on the situation between Israel and Palestine.
We have maintained a historic relationship with Israel, we were the decisive vote in the United Nations for the creation of the State of Israel. In the conflict that Israel faces today with Hamas, we support Israel in terms of its right to defend itself, condemning the terrorist attack, despite the fact that we deeply regret the loss of human life in the Gaza Strip and for the two-state solution. But Paraguay has been, and I personally am, very critical of the failure of the multilateral system, in which the United Nations Organization and other bodies have been unable to resolve these decades-old conflicts.
