Paraguay's Chamber of Deputies Rejects Abdo's Impeachment

Paraguay's Chamber of Deputies rejected an impeachment request submitted by the opposition on Wednesday, as people took to the streets demanding that President Mario Abdo Benitez resigns over accusations of corruption and mismanagement of the COVID-19  pandemic.

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The opposition needed 53 votes to move on with the impeachment. "We need 16 more votes," Deputy Celeste Amarilla from the Liberal Party had said early, but the Colorado party of Benitez holds the majority within the legislative body. However, the official noticed that they were not "looking for votes; we are presenting this measure because people took to the streets to ask for it."

Protestors have been demonstrating for more than a week with violent clashes with the police. teleSUR correspondent in Paraguay Osvaldo Zayas reports that farmer's organizations have summoned for rallied in the coming days.

Last year the government requested millionaire loans to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic but the people questions where it was allocated to after a critical shortage of medical supplies and vaccines. Zayas explains that this is the second impeachment threat upon Abdo, whose term must end in 2023.