Last Updated on October 4, 2025
After nearly two weeks of disruptive roadblocks and Indigenous mobilizations across Paraguay, the government of President Santiago Peña bowed to Indigenous demands on Oct. 3.
The protests began on Sept. 23, after the administration’s decision to relocate the central office of Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena (INDI), the government agency responsible for fulfilling, guaranteeing, and ensuring Indigenous rights in Paraguay.
The office was originally headquartered in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción.
Amado Arrieta, a Paraguayan journalist and member of the Popular Party, explained to Peoples Dispatch, that the government wanted to stop “Indigenous people [from] coming to Asunción, because they often come and stage protests and camp around the INDI headquarters for months. That is why it closed the office.”
To prevent any further protest camps, the government relocated the office to a military barracks. “But it didn’t work, because the Indigenous people closed all the roads around it,” Arrieta explained.
The Indigenous protesters were also demanding the removal of Juan Ramón Benegas, a retired military officer who was appointed head of INDI following the resignation of former congresswoman Marlene Ocampos in 2024.
Following the resignation of Benegas, the government named Hugo Samaniego, a former human rights official, as his replacement.
This makes Samaniego the third president of INDI in two years.
In a joint statement, Indigenous organizations declared victory: “Our heroic resistance has paid off … In light of this situation, we have decided to return to our communities and remain in permanent assembly, ready to take to the streets again if the commitment to reopen … is not fulfilled.”
The confrontation in Paraguay has ended, at least for now, with a rare reversal by a government that has often ignored Indigenous needs and rights.
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