*Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña has promulgated a law aimed at increasing the professionalism of the public sector. The ‘law on public sector and civil service careers’ establishes a new framework for the hiring, promotion, and activities of public servants. Among other things, it requires all new hires in the public sector to take an exam, establishes mandatory annual reviews for public servants, and includes measures aimed at countering nepotism. The law will not apply to certain sectors, including the judiciary, military, and legislature. The law has been criticised by the public sector union Unión Nacional de Trabajadores del Estado – Sindicato Nacional (UNTE-SN), which described it as an attack on workers’ rights.