Paraguay’s ten leading figures in 2021

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Gómez played a key role in the victory of his Brazilian team, Palmeiras, in the final of the Copa Libertadores against Flamengo, while Valdez retired for good in a reunion match with his former teammates in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

GUSTAVO GÓMEZ, CAPTAIN OF THE CHAMPIONS

Clearing every ball that reached his area and initiating the play for his team’s first goal, Gustavo Gómez was key to Palmeiras’ 2-1 win over Flamengo and the Copa Libertadores title in the final played in Montevideo.

Wearing the captain’s band on his left arm, the number 15 lifted the trophy at the Centenario Stadium and celebrated winning the title for the second consecutive year.

FAREWELL TO NELSON HAEDO VALDEZ

A goal scorer in every team he played for, Nelson Haedo Valdez ended his professional career in December with a farewell match against his friends in the same squad that played in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where he achieved his best result in history.

German clubs Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt; Spanish clubs Valencia and Hercules; U.S. Seattle Sunders and Paraguay’s Cerro Porteño were among the teams in which the ‘León Guaraní’ played.

SANDRA IRALA, THE WEEKLY VOICE OF HEALTHCARE

Dr. Sandra Irala is the voice that weekly reports on the evolution of Covid-19 in Paraguay, the same one that insists, Friday after Friday, on the need to be vaccinated in a country that has barely reached 40% of the population with the two doses.

Doctor in Medicine and Surgery from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the National University of Asuncion, Dr. Irala is specialized in Epidemiology, Clinical Pediatrics and Public Health, and became head of the General Directorate of Health Surveillance last September.

MANUEL MARÍA CÁCERES, ITAIPÚ’S TARIFF DEFENSE

The revision of Annex C of the Itaipu Binational Dam, managed by Brazil and Paraguay, has been at the heart of the controversy in recent months because Brazil is requesting a reduction in the tariffs while Paraguay is advocating that the current values be maintained. Negotiations that began this year will continue in 2022.

The hydroelectric plant’s Paraguayan director Manuel María Cáceres has been among those in charge of defending his country’s interests in a negotiation in which Paraguay has some US$168 million at stake.

MARIO ABDO BENÍTEZ, BETWEEN THE PANDEMIC AND MERCOSUR

The actions of the government headed by Paraguayan president Mario Abdo Benítez have been conditioned this year by the management of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a high number of cases towards mid-year, a relatively low rate of vaccinated population, and the taking over of the 6-month presidency of MERCOSUR in December.

Differences within the bloc, in which Uruguay blocked the agreement on the Common External Tariff (CET), call for extra diplomacy for one of the two “small” partners that need giants Argentina and Brazil, not only to settle the internal crisis, but also to advance in the ratification of the agreement with the European Union.

CARLOS FILIZZOLA, OPPOSITION LEADER

Frente Guasu president Carlos Filizzola, Paraguay’s main left-wing party, was one of the main opposition leaders who demanded the dismissal of the country’s president Mario Abdo Benítez.

As part of the protests last March over the government’s handling of the pandemic, the opposition attempted an impeachment trial against Abdo Benítez, which was ultimately unsuccessful.

ALEJANDRO DOMÍNGUEZ, SOCCER AS BUSINESS

The more than US$244 million announced weeks ago as prizes for club tournaments ratified, for yet another year, the new direction taken by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) under the presidency of Alejandro Domínguez, who aspires to align his competitions to the level of European soccer, such as the Champions and Europa Leagues.

In addition, with US$6 million contributed by CONMEBOL, Uruguay renovated its old Centenario Stadium, which in November hosted the finals of the Copa Sudamericana and the men’s Libertadores, and aspires to host the 2030 World Cup.

ACEVEDO, FOURTH CHANCELLOR IN LESS THAN THREE YEARS

Euclides Acevedo was appointed in January 2021 as Paraguay’s Foreign Minister and became the 4th head of the South American country’s Foreign Ministry since the start of Mario Abdo Benítez’s presidency in August 2018.

Acevedo this year faced an agenda essentially shaped by negotiations within MERCOSUR and talks with Brazil over tariffs for the binational Itaipu dam.

GUILLERMO BARROS SCHELOTTO, FACING A DIFFICULT CHALLENGE

After managing several clubs, Argentine Guillermo Barros Schelotto last October accepted the challenge of leading the Paraguayan national team after the dismissal of his countryman Eduardo Berizzo due to poor results at the helm of the squad.

With the difficult mission of leading the Paraguayan national team to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, ‘Melli’ managed the team for the first time in the match against Chile, which finished with a 1-0 defeat for his team.

BLAS ZAPAG, AT THE HELM OF THE LARGEST PRIVATE INVESTMENT

Cellulose pulp production plant Paracel, jointly owned by Swedish company Girindus Investments and Paraguayan Grupo Zapag, has as its CEO the leader of the latter, Blas Zapag, also owner of Copetrol, one of the main fuel distributors in the South American country.

Last February, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES) granted Paracel’s environmental license, the largest private investment in Paraguay, with some US$3.2 billion, and which will generate some 40,000 jobs.