Attack on Paraguayan non-governmental organizations

In response to the statements made on social media by National Senator Fidel Zavala, of the Patria Querida Party, regarding the Paraguayan non-governmental organizations Center for Analysis and Dissemination of the Paraguayan Economy (CADEP) and Base Social Research (Base IS), calling them propagandists and unproductive, and urging the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) to stop allocating funds to the research they carry out, the CLACSO Centers of Paraguay state the following:

The aforementioned organizations are respected nationally and internationally for the importance and quality of the knowledge they produce in their respective fields, and for the experience of the professionals who comprise their teams. CADEP has been generating knowledge about the economic performance of the country and the region for 30 years and has become a leading center for economic analysis and social policy. Base IS has 31 years of experience in social science research and disseminating knowledge about Paraguayan reality, revealing numerous problems faced by the most excluded sectors of our society and the enormous inequalities that prevail in the country. The research findings of both centers have been widely disseminated, used, and recognized both nationally and internationally.

These organizations, like others active in Paraguay in social science research and training, have carried out their work without any state support for a long time, providing scientific information and analysis that has brought prestige to the country, even compensating for the lack of research in the university academic field, and placing the Paraguayan voice and reality in the international debate.

The existence today of CONACYT, an entity for whose creation Paraguayan researchers have fought, makes it possible that scientific research in all areas, including the social sciences, can finally be supported so that the country has the necessary data and analysis to guide state action based on evidence built with rigorous methods.  

This support does not imply that the operation of centers like CADEP and Base IS depends on public funds, but on their ability to formulate research projects with a solid theoretical and methodological foundation, compete in various calls, including those enabled by CONACYT, and be selected by peer review teams.

Denying this possibility to non-governmental organizations because some of the topics they address are inconvenient constitutes a clear attempt at censorship and manipulation of research in Paraguay. This is what Senator Zavala has tried to do by disregarding these entities and labeling them as he did.

It is strategic for Paraguay to have a national science and technology system that is public, sustainable, and independent. The production and dissemination of new knowledge, the development of critical thinking, and the formulation of proposals to solve social problems are fundamental factors for improving the population's quality of life. And for this, a strong state and public investment are essential.

For all these reasons, the CLACSO centers of Paraguay, while repudiating the statements of Senator Fidel Zavala, express our solidarity with CADEP and Base IS and urge the Paraguayan State to continue supporting the production of independent and quality knowledge.

Asunción, August 2020

CLASO Member Centers in Paraguay: Center for Anthropological Studies of the Catholic University – CEADUC; Base Social Research – BASE-IS; Center for Analysis and Dissemination of the Paraguayan Economy – CADEP; Center for Documentation and Studies – CDE; Center for Interdisciplinary Rural Studies – CERI; Germinal Center for Studies and Popular Education – CEEPG; Department of Social Sciences – DCS/UCA; General Directorate of Postgraduate Studies and International Relations – UNA; Territorial Approach – Enfoque; Postgraduate School of the Rectorate – EPR; Faculty of Sciences, Technologies and Arts – FCTA; Institute of Social Sciences – ICSO; Institute of Comparative Studies in Criminal and Social Sciences – INECIP-Paraguay; Institute of Social Work of the National University of Asunción – ITS-UNA; Research for Development – ​​ID; Seeds for Democracy – SPD; Peace and Justice Service, Paraguay – SERPAJPY; Tierraviva to the Indigenous Peoples of the Chaco – TIERRAVIVA.