Paraguay: In defense of freedom of thought
Paraguayan academic centers belonging to the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) have issued a statement lamenting the recent decisions of the Board of Directors of the National Council of Science and Technology ( CONACYT ). In its extraordinary session on April 2, CONACYT decided that the awarding of research projects will be subject to the analysis of its members, who will be required to approve all disbursements individually. This decision relegates to a secondary role the evaluation of research proposals by international experts, "which has been the mechanism that, in recent years, ensured a rigorous, transparent, and independent selection process for projects, which in turn generated high public regard for CONACYT's management," the statement emphasizes.
They add that “it is worrying that in the same session it was also decided to suspend funding for projects whose 'results are deficient'. This forces us to ask: What will the criteria be now for defining the deficiency of research results?”
To address this new situation and unify criteria to deal with it, the CLACSO member centers invite representatives of scientific, academic and research institutions from Paraguay to a meeting on Tuesday, April 16, from 18 to 20 p.m. at the premises of the Scientific Society of Paraguay (Andrés Barbero No. 230, Asunción).
To discuss the current state of science and research in Paraguay, CLACSO Radio spoke with Ramón Corvalán, Member of the Human Rights Education and Culture of Peace Team of the Peace and Justice Service (Serpaj) of Paraguay.
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The scientists maintain that “the members of the CONACYT Board of Directors represent various sectors of Paraguayan society. Some of them have interests that conflict with the conclusions of the studies, especially those conducted from a critical thinking perspective. The evaluation of proposals by leading international specialists, without any interference, has ensured Paraguayan researchers the freedom to study diverse aspects of the national reality with no restrictions other than methodological rigor and the quality of the results.”
And they conclude: “We urge the National Council of Science and Technology, the country's academic and research institutions, and all democratic citizens to defend freedom of thought, the basis of knowledge and scientific production, and a guarantee for the design of public policies and fairer decision-making.”
Event: Paraguay: In defense of freedom of thought April 16, 2019 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
