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ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay . In President Santiago Peña's first year in office, the government's "pro-life" rhetoric and authoritarian advances continue to marginalize historically excluded sectors of society. While laws like the anti-NGO law threaten human rights , the LGBTQ+ population, sex workers, Indigenous peoples, and people living with HIV face neglect, stigmatization, and institutional violence.

From January to October 2024, Rohendu, the hotline service of the lesbian organization Aireana, recorded 191 calls. Of these, 60 were related to how to deal with discrimination. Casa Diversa, which houses and assists trans people, reported situations of violence and discrimination in the cities of Itauguá, Justo Augusto Saldívar, San Lorenzo, Capiatá, Asunción, and Pedro Juan Caballero. The majority involved physical and verbal violence.

In the presentation of the report by the Human Rights Coordinator of Paraguay, they noted: the major theme of 2024 was the resistance of civil society organizations in the context of the enactment of the anti-NGO law or "Garrote Law." To support it, the digital militias of Cartismo disinformation narratives on social media . Among them was the narrative of the defense of sovereignty by foreign agents seeking to spread "gender ideology."

“Anti-rights groups denounce an alleged attack on morality, traditional values, the family, and the nation,” write the authors of the chapter "Pro-Life Performance" in the report by the Human Rights Coordinator (Codehupy). In their analysis, they explain that the narrative of "gender ideology" truly aims to delegitimize and invalidate the demands of the feminist movement and sexual dissidents.

Carolina Robledo Desh and Rosa Posa Guinea, co-founders of Aireana; Florencia Falabella, researcher at the Center for Interdisciplinary Rural Studies (CERI); and Erwing Szokol, researcher at the Network Against All Forms of Discrimination (RCTFD) delved deeper into this investigation into the government's persecutory rhetoric toward organizations, which creates an environment conducive to discrimination and makes them targets of harassment, particularly TLGBIQ+ organizations. 

Political gender violence in the digital space

In February, the Public Ministry Observatory reported six cases of political violence against women. That was the same month that Cartista senators and allies removed Kattya González —one of the most voted opposition senators—from office on four grounds, including alleged misuse of influence. But the disinformation campaign and attacks against González began on social media days before the indictment was filed.

An investigation published in the newspaper Abc showed that digital militias of the Cartismo movement sought to spread the narrative of corruption against the opposition senator. The study found that at least 500 accounts participated in the #FueraKattya hashtag, and 34.8% of the posts contained aggressive content. Official media outlets amplified this narrative based on the testimony of a well-known disinformation profile on X (Twitter).

The parliamentary procedure was marked by irregularities that exposed a persistent practice: gender-based violence and political persecution against opposition legislators . Days later, the Cartismo party threatened to repeal the Comprehensive Women's Protection Law, arguing, through ruling party Senator Basilio Núñez, that it was an "unconstitutional" law.

A study by Tedic (Technology, Education, Development, Research, Communication) on gender-based violence against female politicians identified eight types of technology-facilitated violence: online harassment, doxing , misinformation, and dissemination of non-consensual intimate images , among others. The researchers also identified 12 types of perpetrators. These include politicians, state authorities, media outlets, social media platforms, anonymous profiles, trolls, and organized crime groups.

Education with discrimination

The material proposed by the Ministry of Education (MEC), 12 Sciences for the Education of Sexuality and Affection in the Family and School , which contains gender stereotypes, hate speech, and religious bias, "could validate the perpetuation of discrimination " from the primary education stage, notes Pablino Caballero, general coordinator at the Vencer Foundation, in the chapter " Resistance to the Lack of Substantial Changes for HIV Prevention" in the report. "This would affect people with HIV and continue to widen the gap toward the full exercise of their rights," he adds.

Without inclusive policies

In Legal Limbo, Lack of Policies, and Stigma Restrict Rights, the organization Unidas en la Esperanza (UNES) highlights how the stigma toward sex work in Paraguay is reflected in institutional discrimination and a lack of political will to address the issue . The absence of a clear legal framework keeps sex workers in a state of legal ambiguity, where their work is permitted but lacks official recognition. This also translates into a lack of access to essential benefits such as social security, healthcare, and fair working conditions.

article "Zero Hunger" without water for the indigenous peoples of Chaco, by Natalia Paola Rodríguez Olmedo of Tierraviva, denounces the shortcomings of the Zero Hunger program, which, despite centralizing resources, does not guarantee basic rights such as water, health, and education in indigenous communities. She explains that the lack of water prevents schools from functioning, affecting nutrition, while the climate crisis and the expansion of livestock farming exacerbate exclusion, especially for indigenous women, who face economic and labor inequality without public policies that address their vulnerability.

Resistances and memory 

In April, students at the National University of Asunción (UNA) took over several faculties in protest following the enactment of the "Zero Hunger " Law. This resulted in the elimination of the National Fund for Public Investment and Development (Fonacide), which financed the Zero Tariff, the National Health Fund, scientific research, and other public policies.

In June, after ten years, Paraguay once again hosted the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS). Under the slogan " OEA Kuñanguera roma'ê penderehe" (Women are watching), more than 40 women's organizations delivered a letter to Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano on June 19, demanding public policies with a gender, racial, disability, and intersectional perspective, as well as territorial and environmental rights .

That same month, the UN recommended that Paraguay decriminalize abortion in all circumstances and guarantee safe, quality services for adolescents. It also called for legal recognition of gender identity for trans children and adolescents and for gender education to be made a mandatory part of the school curriculum. Both requests are crucial for a country where a child or adolescent is abused every three hours, and 95% of cases occur within the family environment, according to the Ministry of Children and Adolescents (MINNA).

“There is a growing awareness of one's own memory: September 30th as National LGBTQ+ Rights Day, September 16th as Lesbian Visibility Day, October 17th as National Day for the Recognition and Protection of the Human Rights of Trans People. Everything is moving forward, except our State,” the researchers observe in The Pro-Life Performance .

Despite the setbacks in public policies and the strengthening of the anti-rights lobby, social resistance persists: from feminist mobilizations to the 21st LGBTQ+ March, excluded voices continue to demand a place in a country governed by conservative and corporate interests.