Paraguayan deputies sanction law against the invasion of private lands amid riots in front of Congress

(CNN Spanish) – In Paraguay, the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill on Wednesday that raises an increase in prison sentences for those who invade private properties, amid a debate that generated disturbances on the outskirts of Congress, where dozens of peasants and indigenous people gathered. to repudiate him and were dispersed by the National Police.

The law, which has been sanctioned and will now go to the Executive for promulgation or veto, establishes more severe prison sentences against invasions and occupations of land, with custodial penalties that can reach up to ten years in prison.

The situation generated mobilizations of peasant sectors in Asunción this Wednesday, where the police used fire hydrants, tear gas and rubber bullets to suppress the demonstration, which turned violent because some broke through the security fences and threw Molotov cocktails at vehicles and stones at the police officers.

Images of the protest against the law on private property in front of the Congress building in Asunción, on September 29, 2021. (Credit: Norberto Duarte / AFP via Getty Images)

In this context, the authorities reported that seven agents were injured, among them the main commissioner César Vargas, who has cuts on his head.

The local press reported that several cars were burned in the vicinity of the Congress.

Images of cars burned during the protest in Asunción on September 29, 2021. (Credit: Norberto Duarte / AFP via Getty Images)

In addition to the protest in Asunción, there were several mobilizations of peasants and indigenous people in different parts of the country. These sectors assure that they will continue to demand to demand that President Mario Abdo Benítez veto this law that, they maintain, criminalizes the fight for land.