Paraguay: In defense of freedom of thought
The Paraguayan academic centers that are members of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) have issued a statement regretting the recent decisions of the Board of Directors of the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYTThe complainants point out that, in its extraordinary session of April 2, the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) decided that the awarding of research projects would be subject to review by the members of the Board of Directors, who would individually approve all disbursements. 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."
They add that “it is worrying that in the same session it was also decided to suspend the financing of projects whose 'results are poor'. 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 for tackling it, the CLACSO member centers invite representatives of scientific, academic and research institutions in Paraguay to a meeting on Tuesday, April 16, from 18 to 20 pm in 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 thoughtApril 16, 2019 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
