Financial consultant Amílcar Ferreira regretted that Fitch Ratings has once again placed Paraguay in the same position as it is in the BB+ country risk rating, with a stable outlook.

Amid the needs and pending issues facing Paraguay, the approval of the anti-NGO law was another brake on the country's risk rating, in this case by Fitch Ratings, reflected the analyst and financial consultant Amílcar Ferreira.

The expert explained that this bill, already approved by both chambers of Congress, is one more problem that is added to the country, among the many that we already have to improve in matters related to institutionality, transparency and participation.
of civil society.

Ferreira regretted that Fitch has once again placed the country of Guaraní in the same position as it is in the BB+ country risk rating, with a stable outlook.

"We have been stuck in that rating for 10 years, and Fitch believes that we are still in the same place, and that the conditions for investment grade are not yet met," he said.

According to him, the recent law approved by Congress that puts greater weight and control on NGOs (also known as the “big stick” law), is causing concern to the entities in charge of reviewing the country’s risk rating, because it gives the impression that it could be a law that restricts freedom of expression.

"I think that NGOs are not a problem for Paraguay. We have other real problems that affect us greatly, so unnecessary noise is generated that affects Paraguay's image abroad," he lamented.

He said that this persecution of non-governmental entities does nothing, but rather the opposite. He added that the countries that are moving forward are precisely those that focus on having strong, transparent, independent institutions, with an active organized civil society as a counterweight and control, which can reach precisely those areas where the State is absent.

Finally, Amílcar Ferreira urged the authorities to put aside these issues that end up distracting and blurring the focus from the truly important situations that Paraguay must address, such as structural reforms.

Among the pending reforms are the civil service law, the urgent reform of the Treasury and everything related to pensions, and others focused on improving public spending.

"We must stop inventing problems where there are none and focus on solving what we have pending," said the expert. After a new evaluation of the country, the Fitch Ratings agency decided to maintain the BB+ rating, with a stable outlook, for our country, the same rating that the Standard & Poor's gave in February after 10 years.

With these rating agencies, Paraguay is one step away from reaching investment grade, which it had achieved in July with the consultancy Moody's by obtaining the Baa3 rating, with a stable outlook.

The Government of Santiago Peña hoped to obtain the second investment grade before the end of 2024, which it did not achieve with Fitch and will now await the results of a subsequent evaluation by Standard and Poor's.