Paraguay's Senate Postpones Vote on Campesinos' Debts

Paraguay's senate has decided to postpone a highly-anticipated vote on whether or to oppose the president's veto of a bill to cancel campesinos' debts.

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The vote required a prior assessment from the Tax Commission about the legislation — approved by both chambers at the end of July — before senators could give their opinion in plenary session.

The bill aims to fund and restructure the debts of small campesinos — defined as owners of less than 30 hectares — with compensation of up to US$10,000 per person.

Th rural workers have set up a camp on the square facing the Congress but national police have systematically denied them the right to march towards the center of the capital Asuncion.

The new round of protests follows the decision of the conservative government of Horacio Cartes to veto the bill arguing the measure was too expensive for the state's budget.

Campesinos hope that Congress will be able to override the president's veto, which would require a majority vote from its 23 senators and 41 representatives. 

The nation has one of the biggest campesino populations in South America with about 35 percent of the country's population working on the land. Land ownership has long formed the basis for bloody disputes in Paraguay, where the state often acts in the interests of the elite.