“People are tired of the ANR political model and the opposition presents a very good candidate like Edu Nakayama.” Interview with Ana Sosa Schaerer (PLRA)

By Marcos Pérez Talia.

Following the 2021 Municipal Elections Special, we bring you the reflection of one of the candidates for the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), option No. 10, Ana Sosa Schaerer.

What would be your 3 main lines of action in case you reach the Council?

The first and most important thing is to make municipal management transparent. We have to study the amount of officials the municipality really has and what functions they are performing, find out who are just showing up in the payroll list without actually working (planilleros) and make these people face justice. We are working with several opposition candidates to work on this. The main problem in the municipality is the budget. There is a huge number of officials and, on top of that, there are more administrative officials than operational ones.

Another fundamental point is that of transparency, we would work on digitization processes to strengthen the procedures. Nowadays the administrative procedures are still done by stamp, this is a shame.

Budget is a main line of action. Although most of the budget is used for rigid expenses, even when reducing those expenses, the budget would still be very low, the lowest of the capitals of the region. In that sense, one of my lines of actions is related to tax incentives. You have to lower certain taxes and fines to increase tax collection. One of the biggest businesses of the municipality is the non-collection of taxes. This presents a snowball effect for certain property owners, the cost becomes very high and they have to resort to managers to file and store their documents. These types of fines so far do not generate anything, they happen all the time and only serve for bribery.

I think #ANRNuncaMas is an important factor for this election. The Colorados themselves do not make much noise in the streets and always walk with a low profile. I insist, it can influence, although not as the only factor. The hashtag # ANRNuncaMás without a compelling opposition candidate would have no effect.

That is why we have to work through incentives. In that sense, it is very important to lower taxes to encourage people to return and live in Asunción, especially in the city center. Not only must the burden be lightened on the property owners of the city center, but people must also be brought back to live in the capital. Young people are almost expelled from Asunción due to the high housing costs, and we also have to work with the Treasury because it is not only municipal taxes that must be reduced but also property taxes.

Finally, there is the issue of insecurity in Asunción. The public spaces are dark and one cannot go with their family to walk through these, especially women. There was an incident in the Botanical Garden a short time ago. We have to work together with the National Police.

Comparing the numbers of the internal ANR with that of the PLRA, it seems that there was less competitiveness in the liberal party. The top spots on the PLRA list changed almost nothing. What are your strategies to face this electoral challenge?

My own liberal electorate is smaller in the party internals due to a generational issue, since many young people no longer join political parties. The internal elections have a more complicated universe, basically they work like a war of structures. 

On the other hand, the general elections are another story for us. The structure has a seeling but we don’t. We can reach out to the liberals who are unhappy with the current Party representatives, as well as the general public. I have a lot of hope.

The group of councilors that supports Eduardo Nakayama is quite large and diverse. In the event of governing, how could one harmonize such a heterogeneous government alliance?

Among the young candidates, at least we took the first step meeting and seeing common ground. The municipality has too many problems and we have to find common ground to be a strong board. Of course we are going to have our ideological differences, personal issues, but finding common ground such as transparency, which is transversal to everything, will help.

We need to build a strong board. Here, I see an important point to highlight. Many people focus on the mayor, but really the councilors have the most important task. For example, a mayor cannot govern if he has the majority of councilors against him. That is why we must highlight the importance of the Municipal Board. You have to choose a strong board to accompany the mayor’s management.

Regarding the move in social networks with the hashtag #ANRNeverAgain, (ANR stands for the Republican National Association) do you think that it will weaken the electoral strength of the ANR? Or is it more of a Twitter anecdote?

I believe that it can be a wake up call for mobilization especially for the young sector. I have many acquaintances who are fed up with this political model and say that they are going to vote for Nakayama. Now there is an interesting complement: people are tired of the ANR political model and the opposition presents a very good candidate like Edu Nakayama.

I think #ANRNuncaMas is an important factor for this election. The Colorados themselves do not make much noise in the streets and always walk with a low profile. I insist, it can influence, although not as the only factor. The hashtag # ANRNuncaMás without a compelling opposition candidate would have no effect.

Less than 2 years until the general elections, what perspectives do you see in the opposition?

I believe that the municipal elections are totally decisive for the opposition, especially in Asunción. The Liberal Party is in the position of being able to become united by 2023. For that to happen we have to have good management, as is already being seen in Villa Elisa with Ricardo Estigarribia; Edu Nakayama will surely do his thing as well, and in other municipalities as well.

Why do I insist on Asunción? Because in the last presidential elections of 2018 we lost decisively in the capital. Moreover, if Nakayama wins and shows good management, it could be decisive to win in the 2023 elections. In the Colorado Party you don’t see too many figures except Santi Peña, who I no longer heard or seen as much in the political arena, nor Hugo Velázquez. I believe that the message #ANRNuncaMás can be imposed even stronger.