Lawmakers in Paraguay continue to push for the enforcement of the ‘Law Establishing Control, Transparency and Accountability for Non-Profit Organizations,’ calling out delays in the passing of secondary regulation necessary for its operationalization. The Law (Law No. 7363) which was passed in November 2024 has been rejected by various sectors of Paraguayan society for establishing serious restrictions on the rights of civil society organizations. Once implemented, the law is expected to limit freedom of association by, among other restrictions, placing excessive administrative burden on civil society organizations, thereby making cooperation channels more difficult, forcing smaller organizations to close down, and preventing new ones from being opened.
The push for enforcement of the law, dubbed ‘anti-NGO law’ by civil society actors, is part of a broader campaign against NGOs in Congress, which previously established a Bicameral Commission of Inquiry (CBI) investigating allegations of money laundering through NGOs. While the CBI already had a negative impact on the enabling environment, discrediting civil society organizations and violating their right to privacy, members have now announced that they will request documents from USAID to further investigate the organizations funded by them. The discourse surrounding the USAID funding freeze, particularly the allegations of misuse of resources by civil society and of foreign interference in national political affairs, thus adds to anti-NGO narratives used to justify the CBI investigation as well as the push for Law 7363. As part of these narratives, Paraguayan lawmakers have supported the freezing of USAID funding, which had seriously disrupted civil society work in Paraguay, as a push for increased transparency. The Vice-Presidency of the Foreign Relations Commission further announced the participation of a Senator of the ruling party in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in May 2025 in Hungary, to give a presentation on the “cultural battle against NGOs” in Paraguay, further providing evidence of the government’s political agenda against civil society.