In his third management report before the National Congress, as provided by the Constitution, the President of the Republic, Santiago Penapresented the state of the countryquestioning, as he repeatedly does to the critical media, because he is told that he paints a “land of wonders.” and he asserted that many of what he considers achievements will not be read “in some newspapers.”
The accountability before the Legislature is almost a carbon copy report that Peña presented to his mentor politician and head of the ANR, Horacio Cartes last June 17.
At the beginning of his speech, Peña announced that he was leaving the usual protocol where he presents his achievements, receives applause for “the absence of some legislators and the titles of Wonderland” from some media outlets.
“I think that all of us, deputies, senators, governors, the political class in general and the press media and hegemonic economic groups. He said that the Albirroja gave a bath of humility this week. He said that the epic triumph of the National Team in the FIFA World Cup brought a few days of excitement rarely seen,” said the head of the Executive.
He mentioned several soccer players from the National Team such as Orlando Gill, José Canale, Julio Enciso, Gustavo Gómez and Professor Gustavo Alfaro “who restored self-esteem to Paraguayans.”
Read more: The most important points of Santiago Peña’s management report
“They taught us that we built the country together, among all of us, that the word surrender does not appear in the Paraguayans’ dictionary, that beyond our differences there is a greater common good, the greatness of Paraguay. I think that the political class, businessmen and the media, we have to say two words: Thank you and sorry,” said Peña.
“Thank you for showing a path to a better Paraguay, courage, discipline, tenacious struggle, teamwork more than individuality. Thank you for leaving the name of insecurity at the highest level in the world. Forgive me because those of us who have the responsibility of guiding our country are not always up to the task, we try, as is my case, with all my being, but the material limitations, the pettiness, even our personal insufficiencies, make us remain indebted to the people,” expressed the president of the Republic.
“Win or Die”
At another point in his speech, Santiago Peña urged “all Paraguayans to follow the albirrojo example. We may have our differences, even deep ones, but there is a greater good for which it is worth living, fighting and working.”
“Because I am sure that we will all agree on something: there is simply nothing better in the world than being Paraguayan. It makes me sad to think that there are millions of people on this planet who will live without knowing and feeling what it is like to come from this nation for which surrender is not an option: “Win or Die.” Let’s look for the coincidencesinstead of the differences; common projects, instead of individualities; the good of all, above all; and let’s build that country that we know we deserve, and that the world is beginning, fascinated, to get to know,” he stressed.
“And if there is something that is similar to the “Albirroja”, in the sense of showing us the great things that we Paraguayans can achieve when we work together, that is our 1992 Constitution. Just a week ago we celebrated, for the first time in our history, the Day of the Oath of the National Constitution. We thus honor the most democratic, pluralistic, guarantee-oriented and socially focused constitutional text that our Republic has ever had,” he remarked.
Next, he added: “The simple reality is that with the 1992 Constitution, Paraguay, for the first time in its history, has lived in a true democracy. We never had that before; On the contrary, our political history stood out for the barracks, the prison, the intolerance and the “broken days” of exile, in the words of our great poet Elvio Romero. But we Paraguayans were able to change that reality, we turned history around. And so, for 34 years we have lived uninterruptedly in democracy, with disagreements, discussions and some crises, but governments are changed without bloodshed, and our free elections are a model of transparency and effectiveness at a regional and global level.”
Read more: ANR: Peña paints a “land of wonders” and complains bitterly about criticism of his Government
“Vigorous economic growth”
Peña then stated: And not only that: that democratic Paraguay has been characterized by a vigorous economic growth and poverty reduction to levels never before achieved. That is the truth, the data is there, and they are achievements of Paraguayan constitutional democracy. In the words of the great republican Roberto L Petit, “history, devoid of the passion of the moment, with impartiality and objectivity,” will tell us in the future that Paraguayans have much to be proud of for what we achieved under the protection of the Constitution. Therefore, I want to begin this report by thanking this Congress because, thanks to a law that you passed, that date was incorporated into our civic calendar, to remember the importance of our Magna Carta. Let’s not take it for granted; still perfectible, has given us a lot”.
“I am aware that there have been criticisms because, before presenting the report to Congress, I did so in my Party. Frankly, I don’t see any problems with it. Not only because belonging to the party of Bernardino Caballero, Blas Garay, Ricardo Brugada, Juan León Mallorquín, Luis María Argaña and so many others is something that fills me with pride. But for a simpler reason: the more these types of acts are carried out, the better. For this reason, I take advantage of this scenario to launch a challenge: that the opposition political parties that are present here, when I finish, request it, and I will gladly return to provide my report with them.”
Read more: Centurión on Peña’s report: In love with money, divorced from the people and attacking critics
“You don’t have to be afraid of debateto the confrontation of ideas: the ideal should be, in the words of the recently deceased philosopher Jürgen Habermas, “deliberative democracy”, in which we all dialogue to build a better country. This way we can put, like Albirroja, Paraguay at the top. I know that many also criticize my rhetoric about the “rising of the giant.” If being convinced of the greatness of this country is a sin, I accept it with joy. Because I am an incurable optimist, who loves his country and believes in its greatness. I think that the unbelievers are only unbelievers because they have not yet seen how enormous this country is. They threw everything that could be thrown at us at a country, they invaded us, they tried to destroy us, but here we are, “alive and well.” Stronger than ever. So I can only say thank you, once again, to the Paraguayan people for allowing me the immense privilege, which I will never be able to pay for, of occupying López’s chair.”
“We never before had the economic numbers we have today”
Peña said that in his report he outlines the general state of the nation: the year 2026 finds Paraguay in the best economic moment in its entire history: and this is not a story, it is a reality.
He said that “never before did we have the economic numbers that we have today; never before were we in the world’s window as an example to follow; Never before has Paraguay had such a large GDP; Never before have we had so many foreign and national investments; Never before has the State invested in social matters like now; never before did we have such a vigorous middle class; Never before have we had the country risk so low; and never before have we had so many Paraguayans out of poverty.”
“But don’t believe me; let’s listen to the World Bank. According to this international organization, Paraguay is the country in South America that has grown the most in the last 60 years, between 1960 and 2024: 1,520%. And also, in the last three years. Our GDP in 2025 grew 6.6% — the highest in 12 years, tripling, I repeat, tripling, the average of the region. And it grew three years continued above 4%, something that has not happened since 2006-2008, when the region benefited from the commodities boom,” said the president.
At another point in his speech, he said that the projected growth in 2026 is 4.2%, completing four consecutive years above 4%. “This is something unprecedented in democracy, and comparable only with the Itaipu era. In this Government, we double the regional average and we lead growth. Thus, we recovered the path that had been lost between 2018 and 2022, when we grew just 1.2% on average,” he stated.
For all these reasons, Standard & Poor’s granted us the second investment grade in December 2025, a boost for the country. And all this is not coincidence but causality: it is the fruit of political stability, and in the last three years, of a Congress that has been able to find points of agreement with the Executive.
Read more: ANR: Cartes “exhorted” Santi Peña to guarantee health throughout the year
He thanked Congress
Peña said that nothing is achieved without stability. He pointed out that the political stability and the solidity of our democracy are the firm ground on which everything else is built.
“That stability gave us the degree of investment, and the healthiest economy in the region, while other countries live from shock to shock. I must therefore make a special mention here of this Congress, because for the first time in our democratic history, we have a Legislative Branch and an Executive Branch that work in a coordinated manner and the results are visible. And we do so honoring the plurality of this house: each project that we propose is supported by benches of different signs. Allow me to pause for a few minutes. in everything we built together in this legislative period, because it is the best proof of that unprecedented joint work.”
“Mental prison”
President Peña said, in another section of his speech: “For this reason, we have to free ourselves from old schemes that imprison our minds, that limit our way of seeing things, to be able to see the world as it really is: full of infinite possibilities. There is still a mental prison that we have to break, which is the one that tells us that Paraguay is a small country, that does not have much to contribute to the world. Against this I have used, since I took office in 2023, the idea of the “rise of a giant.”
“I think that for too long we Paraguayans limited ourselves, we flagellated ourselves, we punished ourselves. We have been, many times, our worst enemies. That is why I ask you to break those chains and accept that Paraguay is a giant country. We have overcome all adversity, all calamities, and we are today stronger than ever. Can we not also be protagonists in the world, turning Paraguay into a leader in international relations? Can we not stop being the “island surrounded by land” and become the bridge that unites the countries of the continent? Can we not go back to being great as we were in the times of Don Carlos Antonio López? Why not? Paraguayan people: I urge you today to break the mental ties, those invisible enemies that prevent us from reaching our true potential.
“Giant Paraguay”
“Believe me: Paraguay is great, we Paraguayans have no limits when we set our minds to it. I’m dreaming, the cynics, the pessimists will say, to which I can only respond: “yes, I’m dreaming; I am dreaming that we can achieve it together; I am dreaming that we can be great; I am dreaming that we can change reality; and I am dreaming that Paraguay will be that country that is the envy of everyone. “I am dreaming, because it is possible, because that giant is re-emerging,” said President Peña, in another section.
