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Protests over vaccine shortages

PRESIDENT Mario Abdo Benitez survived an opposition attempt in Paraguay’s congress to impeach him over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, while hundreds protested outside the legislature demanding his resignation.

The Chamber of Deputies, which is dominated by his governing Colorado Party, voted 42 to 36 to reject impeachment.

Outside, hundreds of protesters threw stones at police who responded with water cannons and rubber bullets.

Some protesters smashed store windows and car windshields, while shouting anti-Abdo slogans. Several people were arrested. Recent days have seen a series of protests against Abdo’s government amid overwhelmed hospitals and shortages of vaccines and drugs for Covid-19 patients.

The shortages prompted Wednesday’s bid by the opposition to remove him from office.

Some doctors and nurses have joined the protests.

More than 183,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 3554 deaths related to Covid-19 have been registered in the South American country of 7.6 million people.

Opposition politicians emphasised, among other things, that so far only 24,000 vaccine doses have arrived in Paraguay.

Abdo Benitez has not commented publicly on the impeachment bid.

But the leader of pro-government politicians, Basilio Nunez, said it “was impossible for the opposition to impeach the president because the effort clearly has electoral objectives”, alluding to elections scheduled later on this year and the national elections in 2023.