Acting Mayor of Ciudad del Este, María Portillo, recently issued a strong criticism of politicians for using a Children's Day event, organized by the Itaipu Dam Construction Corporation, for political campaigning.
The event was planned by Itaipu, led by its director Lipto Portillo, as a festival for children.
However, a large number of key politicians attended the event, including Roberto González Vaesken, a former governor of Alto Paraná province and a candidate in the upcoming November by-election for mayor of Ciudad del Este, as well as Justo Zacarías Irún, Rocio Abed, Betina Aguilera, Federico González, and Diana Centurion.
Regarding the attendance of politicians at the Itaipu-organized event for self-promotion, Acting Mayor Portillo stated, "It was an event for children, and it should not have become a political campaign. If candidate Roberto González Vaesken wanted to campaign, he should have done so separately from this event."
Acting Mayor Portillo added, "It is clear that all state institution resources will be used for candidate González Vaesken's campaign."
Furthermore, the acting mayor reiterated, "Itaipu paid for this event. But the way they did it was not right. This event should have been for the children. Candidate González Vaesken should have conducted his campaign through personal activities and should not have used such an event for political purposes."
Roberto González Vaesken has been nominated as the sole candidate for the Colorado Party in the by-election for mayor of Ciudad del Este, which will be held in November after the dismissal of the former mayor, Miguel Prieto. The Colorado Party is scheduled to hold its internal primary on October 5.
Meanwhile, Acting Mayor Portillo also mentioned the city government's financial difficulties, which required them to take out a loan to pay employees' wages.
This incident has once again raised concerns about the use of public institution resources for political purposes. It is expected that public criticism will intensify, especially regarding an event for children being turned into a venue for political propaganda. Voices are growing louder for stricter regulations on the use of public resources to prevent such incidents from happening again.
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