La ignorancia energética como sentencia
In Tucumán, more than 40% of its economy has historically revolved around lemons. They have positioned themselves as a key player in the sector globally for more than seven decades. Their educational system understood this: they decided to teach how to grow, process, and export lemons in schools. It was no coincidence...
In Tucumán, more than 40% of its economy historically revolved around lemons. They have positioned themselves as a key player in the sector globally for more than seven decades. Their educational system understood this: they decided to teach how to grow, process, and export lemons in schools. This was no coincidence; it was a smart move. Children and citizens understand where much of their region's wealth comes from. What is taught is valued. What is valued is defended. And what is defended grows.
This successful model should inspire Paraguay. We have one of the most powerful energy systems in the world, with dams like Itaipu and Yacyretá. But we still lack energy pedagogy. Most Paraguayans don't understand how electricity is produced, how much it costs, or how it can be transformed into economic value. We live plugged into the electricity grid, but disconnected from the debate and from an objective view of what is best for us as a country.
This ignorance has a price: energy decisions made without citizen consultation, where such consultation isn't even required because we don't know what to demand from politicians in such negotiations. This is no small feat. Continuing to believe that selling energy at bargain prices to our neighbors is good business is a mistake that has cost us decades of frustrated industrialization and unincreased wealth.
Having an energy surplus and not using it to produce, transform, generate employment, or innovate is wasting the most valuable asset we have as a country. And the worst part is that it's not even a topic of discussion, nor is it talked down to us in order to learn from mistakes; the topic is simply ignored. Energy doesn't enter into school, politics, or the collective consciousness.
The case of the lemon in Tucumán shows us that educating about a region's economic engine has a positive impact. Paraguay needs to do the same with energy. Teach from elementary school what a dam is, how consumption is measured, what efficiency means, what energy is, and why it's important. Only then can we stop giving away value and begin to build sovereignty.
Today, technologies like Bitcoin offer the possibility of converting surplus energy into digital assets, without intermediaries. It's a direct way to transform power into value. But without understanding, neither this nor other opportunities will be taken advantage of. It's not about training technicians, but rather citizens who know what's at stake every time an energy agreement is signed.
Paraguay doesn't need more discourses about potential. It needs knowledge. Because energy sovereignty doesn't begin with a hydroelectric plant: it begins in classrooms in every corner of the country. Just as Tucumán teaches about lemons, Paraguay must teach about the light that could ignite its future. And stop believing that thoughtlessly exporting it is enough. This discourse that we are one of the world's largest exporters of clean energy, instead of making us proud, should make us rethink what we are doing to transform our country's economic matrix. The only way to generate progress is by facilitating processes so that all our energy stays at home.