Weekly Report - 04 February 2016 (WR-16-05)

President Horacio Cartes has ordered all public entities to publish their payrolls since 2003. The measure is part of a new drive to find, shame and sack all ‘planilleros’ – the local term used to describe individuals that have been included on public sector payrolls due to their political affinities or kinship to political leaders. Such nepotistic and clientelistic practices have been common in Paraguay since the Alfredo Stroessner dictatorship (1954-1989) and have been tolerated by successive governments, irrespective of their political affiliation, ever since. However, in the wake of a series of official corruption scandals that have exposed how pervasive these practices remain, the increasingly unpopular Cartes has decided to tackle this issue in response to the public outrage it has caused.