Paraguay

Republic of Paraguay República del Paraguay Tetã Paraguái
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Paz y justicia  (Spanish) "Peace and justice"
Anthem: Paraguayos, República o Muerte  (Spanish) "Paraguayans, Republic or Death"
Capital (and largest city)		Asunción 25°16′S 57°40′W / 25.267°S 57.667°W / -25.267; -57.667
Official languages		Spanish Guaraní[1]
Ethnic groups		95% mestizo, 5% other[2]
Demonym		Paraguayan
Government		Constitutional presidential republic
-	President	Fernando Lugo
Independence		from Spain
-	Declared	May 14, 1811
Area
-	Total	406,752 km2 (59th) 157,048 sq mi
-	Water (%)	2.3
Population
-	July 2008 estimate	6,831,306 (101st)
-	Density	15/km2 (192nd) 39/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$29.403 billion[3]
-	Per capita	$4,778[3]
GDP (nominal)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$16.006 billion[3]
-	Per capita	$2,601[3]
Gini (2002)		57.8 (high)
HDI (2007)		▼ 0.755 (medium) (95th)
Currency		Guaraní (PYG)
Time zone		(UTC-4)
-	Summer (DST)	(UTC-3)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.py
Calling code		595

Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðel paɾaˈɣwai]; Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái), is one of the only two landlocked countries in South America (along with Bolivia). It lies on both banks of the Paraguay River and is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Because of its central location in South America, the country is sometimes referred to as Corazón de América — Heart of America.^[4] About 18 % of the population live off less than US$ 2 a day. ^[5]

Name

The country is named after the Paraguay River that runs through the center of the country, from north to south. There are at least four versions for the origin of the river's name. The literal translation from Guaraní is Para = of many colors; Gua = from or belonging to or place; Y = water or river or lake.

Geography

Map of Paraguay

Paraguay is divided by the Río Paraguay into the eastern region, officially called Eastern Paraguay (Paraguay Oriental) and known as the Paraná region; and the western region, officially called Western Paraguay (Paraguay Occidental) and also known as the Chaco.

The southeastern border is formed by the Paraná River, containing the Itaipú dam shared with Brazil. It is currently the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world, generating almost all the electricity consumed by Paraguay. As co-owner of the Itaipú Binational Company, Paraguay has the right to use its 50% share of the electricity generated. However, under the terms of the 1973 Itaipú Treaty signed by the military governments of Paraguay and Brazil, Paraguay is forced to sell all of its unused share to Brazil at a price that is far below the international market price. The terms of the treaty, which expires in 2023, are the subject of widespread discontent in Paraguay. The government of President Lugo has vowed to renegotiate the terms of the treaty with Brazil, which remains hostile to any renegotiation.^[6] Another large hydroelectric power plant on the Paraná River is Yacyretá, co-owned by Paraguay and Argentina.

The terrain consists of grassy plains and wooded hills to the east. To the west, there are mostly low, marshy plains.

The local climate ranges from subtropical to temperate, with substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, though becoming semi-arid in the far west.

History

Pre-Columbian society in the wooded, fertile region which is now present-day Paraguay consisted of seminomadic tribes, who were recognized for their fierce warrior traditions. These indigenous tribes were members of five distinct language families, and 17 separate ethnolinguistic groups still remain today. Europeans first arrived in the area in the early sixteenth century, and the settlement of Asunción was founded on August 15, 1537, by the Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar y Espinoza. The city eventually became the center of a Spanish colonial province, as well as a primary site of the Jesuit missions and settlements in South America in the eighteenth century. Jesuit Reductions were founded and flourished in eastern Paraguay for about 150 years until the expulsion of the Jesuits by the Spanish crown in 1767. Paraguay declared its independence after overthrowing the local Spanish administration on May 14, 1811.

Francisco Solano López

Rendition of Paraguayan soldier grieving the loss of his son by José Ignacio Garmendia

Paraguay's history has been characterized by long periods of political instability and infighting, and devastating wars with its neighbors.

Paraguay fought the War of the Triple Alliance against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and was defeated in 1870 after five years of the bloodiest war in South America. Paraguay's prewar population of approximately 525,000 was reduced to about 221,000 in 1871, of which only about 28,000 were men.^[7] Paraguay also suffered extensive territorial losses to Brazil and Argentina. The Chaco War was fought with Bolivia in the 1930s, and Bolivia was defeated. Paraguay re-established sovereignty over the region called the Chaco and forfeited additional territorial gains as a price of peace.

The history of Paraguay is fraught with disputes among historians, educators and politicians. The official version of historical events, wars in particular, varies depending on whether you read a history book written in Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Europe, or North America. Both the Colorado Party and Liberal Party maintain distinct official versions of Paraguayan history. During the pillaging of Asuncion Saqueo de Asunción in 1869, the Brazilian Imperial Army ransacked and relocated the Paraguayan National Archives to Rio de Janeiro where they have been kept secret, making Colonial and early National Period history difficult to study.

Leftist former bishop Fernando Lugo achieved a historic victory in Paraguay's presidential election in April 2008, defeating the ruling party candidate and ending 61 years of conservative rule. Lugo won with nearly 41% of the vote compared to almost 31% for Blanca Ovelar of the Colorado party.^[8]

Government and Politics

Asunción, the capital of Paraguay

Paraguay is a representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Paraguay is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Congress. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Political History

After World War II, politics became particularly unstable with several political parties fighting for power in the late 1940s, which most notably led to the Paraguayan civil war of 1947.^[9] A series of unstable governments ensued until the establishment in 1954 of the stable regime of dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who remained in office for more than three decades. Paraguay modernized to some extent under Stroessner's regime, though his rule was marked by extensive human rights abuses.^[10]

The splits in the Colorado Party in the 1980s and the conditions that led to this — Stroessner's age, the character of the regime, the economic downturn, and international isolation — provided an opportunity for demonstrations and statements by the opposition prior to the 1988 general elections.

A gathering in Caacupe

The PLRA leader Domingo Laíno served as the focal point of the opposition in the second half of the 1980s. The government's effort to isolate Laíno by exiling him in 1982 had backfired. On his sixth attempt, in 1986, Laíno returned with three television crews from the U.S., a former United States ambassador to Paraguay, and a group of Uruguayan and Argentine congressmen. Despite the international contingent, the police violently barred Laíno's return. However, the Stroessner regime relented in April 1987 and permitted Laíno to arrive in Asunción. Laíno took the lead in organizing demonstrations and diminishing somewhat the normal opposition party infighting. The opposition was unable to reach agreement on a common strategy regarding the elections, with some parties advocating abstention and others calling for blank voting. Nonetheless, the parties did cooperate in holding numerous lightning demonstrations (mítines relámpagos), especially in rural areas. Such demonstrations were held and disbanded quickly before the arrival of the police.

Paraguay was obviously stung by the upsurge in opposition activities, Stroessner condemned the Accord for advocating "sabotage of the general elections and disrespect of the law" and used the national police and civilian vigilantes of the Colorado Party to break up demonstrations. A number of opposition leaders were imprisoned or otherwise harassed. Hermes Rafael Saguier, another key leader of the PRLA, was imprisoned for four months in 1987 on charges of sedition. In early February 1988, police arrested 200 people attending a National Coordinating Committee meeting in Coronel Oviedo. Forty-eight hours before the elections, Laíno and several other National Accord members were placed under house arrest.

Although contending that these results reflected the Colorados' virtual monopoly of the mass media, opposition politicians also saw several encouraging developments. Some 53% of those polled indicated that there was an "uneasiness" in Paraguayan society. Furthermore, 74% believed that the political situation needed changes, including 45% who wanted a substantial or total change. Finally, 31% stated that they planned to abstain from voting in the February elections.^{[citation needed]}

Relations between militants and traditionalists deteriorated seriously in the months following the elections. Although Chaves and his followers had not opposed Stroessner's re-election bid, Montanaro denounced them as "legionnaires" (a reference to those Paraguayan expatriates who fought against Francisco Solano López and who were regarded as traitors by the original Colorados). By late 1988 the only major agencies still headed by traditionalists were the IBR and the National Cement Industry (Industria Nacional de Cemento). In September 1988, traditionalists responded to these attacks by accusing the militants of pursuing "a deceitful populism in order to distract attention from their inability to resolve the serious problems that afflict the nation." Traditionalists also called for an end to personalism and corruption.^[11]

Law

Alto Paraguay Boquerón Presidente Hayes Amambay Concepción San Pedro Distrito Capital Guairá Caazapá Alto Paraná Caaguazú Canindeyú Itapúa Paraguarí Misiones Ñeembucú Cordillera Central Brazil Bolivia Argentina

In recent years, Paraguay has made important progress toward greater fiscal transparency. The fairly comprehensive financial administration law (1999) has been complemented by recent legal reforms that eliminated most tax exemptions, revamped revenue administration procedures and introduced standardized transparency requirements for public procurement, all of which reduce the scope for corruption.

Administrative Subdivisions

Paraguay consists of seventeen departments and one capital district (distrito capital). These are, with their capitals indicated:

The departments are further divided into districts (distritos).

Demographics

A Guarani girl.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Paraguay has a population of 6,669,086, 95% of which are mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian) and 5% are labelled as "other" ^[2] and are members of indigenous tribal groups. They are divided into 17 distinct ethnolinguistic groupings, many of which are poorly documented. One trace of the indigenous Guaraní culture that has endured in Paraguay is the Guaraní language, understood by 90% of the population. About 75% of all Paraguayans speak Spanish. Guaraní and Spanish are official languages.^[12] Small groups of ethnic Italians, Germans, Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, Arabs, Ukrainians, Brazilians, and Argentines settled in Paraguay, and they have to an extent retained their respective languages and culture, particularly the Brazilians who represent the largest number. There are also an estimated 63,000 Afro-Paraguayans, or 1% of the population.^[13]

Paraguay's population is distributed unevenly throughout the country. About 56% of Paraguayans live in urban areas. The vast majority of the people live in the eastern region near the capital and largest city, Asunción, accounting for 10% of the country's population. The Gran Chaco region, which includes the Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Presidente Hayes Department, and accounts for about 60% of the territory, is home to less than 2% of the population.

Largest Cities^[14]

• Asunción 512,112
• Ciudad del Este 222,274
• San Lorenzo 204,356
• Luque 170,986
• Capiatá 154,274
• Lambaré 119,795
• Fernando de la Mora 113,560
• Limpio 73,158
• Ñemby 71,909
• Encarnación 67,173
• Mariano Roque Alonso 65,229
• Pedro Juan Caballero 64,592
• Villa Elisa 53,166

Religion

According to the 2002 census, 89.6% of the population is Roman Catholic, 6.2% is evangelical Christian, 1.1% is other Christian, 0.6% practice indigenous religions and 0.3 profess non-Christian religions.^[15]

A U.S. State Department report on Religious Freedom names Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Jewish (Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), and Baha'i as prominent religious groups and also mentions a large Muslim community in Alto Paraná as a result of Middle-Eastern immigration, especially from Lebanon, and also the Mennonite community in Boquerón.^[15] In 2000 the Unification Church (the followers of Sun Myung Moon) purchased 300,000 hectares of land in Paraguay for the purpose of logging and timber exportation to Asia. The land is the ancestral territory of the indigenous Chamacoco (Ishir) people, who live in Northern Paraguay.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims more than 74,000 members in Paraguay and that its membership has doubled in the past five years.^[16]

Social Issues

Paraguay is a poor and unequal society. Various poverty estimates suggest that 30-50% of the population is poor.^[17] In rural areas, 41.20% of the people lack a monthly income to cover basic necessities, whereas in urban centers this figure is 27.6%. The top 10% of the population holds 43.8% of the national income, while the lowest 10% has 0.5%. The economic recession has worsened income inequality, notably in the rural areas, where the Gini Index has risen from 0.56 in 1995 to 0.66 in 1999. Similarly, land concentration in the Paraguayan countryside is one of the highest in the globe: 10% of the population controls 66% of the land, while 30% of the rural people are landless.^[18] This inequality has caused a great deal of tensions between the landless and elites.^[19]

The World Bank has helped the Paraguayan government reduce Paraguay's maternal and infant mortality. The Mother and Child Basic Health Insurance Project aimed at contributing to reducing mortality by increasing the use of selected life-saving services included in the country's Mother and Child Basic Health Insurance Program (MCBI) by women of child-bearing age, and children under age six in selected areas. To this end, the project also targeted improving the quality and efficiency of the health service network within certain areas, in addition to increasing the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare's (MSPBS) management.^[20]

International Rankings

Economy

Center of Encarnación.

Paraguay is a developing country with a 2005 Human Development Index score of 0.755.^[22] It ranks as the second poorest country in South America with a 2007 GDP per capita of US$4,000. Approximately 2.1 million, or 35%, of its total population is poor and approximately 1 million, or 15.9%, are unemployed.^[2] However, Asuncion in Paraguay is ranked as the world's least expensive city to live in for the fifth year running.^[23]

Paraguay has a market economy marked by a large informal sector that features both re-export of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries, and thousands of small business enterprises. Paraguay's largest economic activity is based on agriculture, agribusiness and cattle ranching. Paraguay is ranked as the world's third largest exporter of chalk boards, and its beef exports are substantial for a country of its size. A 23.Aug.2008 Financial Times article about Paraguay^[24] states “Take record commodities prices, add a subtropical climate that gives farmers five harvests every 24 months and vast tracts of virgin arable land and it is no surprise that tiny Paraguay has emerged as one of the big beneficiaries of the global food crisis” Such perception may put Paraguay into the focus of international agro producers. Reuters India reports that "Some of India's top vegetable oil firms plan to lease or buy land in Paraguay."^[25] Paraguay allows foreign land ownership of any size. Only nationals of Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia can not own land in specific frontier regions. Some media reports at the end of 2008 stated that foreign land purchases will be restricted but were wrong. They were based on a misunderstanding of that Brazilians/frontier-regions-reglementations. Indeed land purchases by foreigners, attracted by low land valuations,^[26][27] have for long been a feature of the Paraguayan economy. A large percentage of the population derive their living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. Despite difficulties arising from political instability, corruption and slow structural reforms, Paraguay has been a member of the free trade bloc Mercosur, participating since 1991 as one of the founding members.

Paraguay's economic potential has been historically constrained by its landlocked geography, but it does enjoy access to the Atlantic Ocean via the Paraná River. Because it is landlocked, Paraguay's economy is very dependent on Brazil and Argentina, its major trade partners. Roughly 38% of the GDP derives from trade and exports to Brazil and Argentina.^[28]

Through various treaties, Paraguay has been granted free ports in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil through which it sends its exports. The most important of these free ports is on the Brazilian Atlantic coast at Paranaguá. The Friendship Bridge that spans the Paraná River between Ciudad del Este and the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu permits about forty thousand travelers to commute daily between both cities, and allows Paraguay land access to Paranaguá. A vibrant economy has developed in Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu mostly based on international commerce and shopping trips by Brazilian buyers colloquially called sacoleiros.^[29]

Bilateral European Union (EU)-Paraguay trade in goods amounts to €437 million in 2005; the EU importing around €269 million and exporting roughly €168 million. In 2005, trade with EU represented 8.9% of Paraguay’s total trade. The EU market represents 13.7% of Paraguay exports and 6.1% of its imports.^[30]

Huge untapped reserves of fertile virgin land : the Chaco, Palmar de las Islas Region

While the country’s external debt is 40% of GDP, Paraguay’s economy is still driven by agricultural production (27% of GDP and 84% of exports). It is a structure which is vulnerable to climatic factors and price volatility. Those vulnerabilities, combined with inequality, explain why poverty currently affects 40% of the population.^[31]

Paraguay’s economy grew by 6.4%^[32] in 2007 and 5.8%^[33] in 2008, fastest growing sector being agriculture with 10.5% growth.

Although ranked 112th out of 175 countries in the 2006 World Bank Doing Business ranking, Paraguay has ranked particularly well in the "Protecting Investors" sub-category within that index. The indexes vary between 0 and 10, with higher values indicating greater disclosure, greater liability of directors, greater powers of shareholders to challenge the transaction, and better investor protection, respectively.

The "Disclosure Index" for Paraguay is 6, whereas the Latin American region ranked only 4.3 (OECD countries ranked 6.3 on average). The country ranked 5 in "Director Liability Index", the same as OECD countries and better than the 5.1 attributed to its neighbors. In the "Shareholder Suits Index" category, Paraguay obtained 6 points, in contrast with 5.8 for its neighbors and 6.6 for OECD countries. The comprehensive "Investor Protection Index" attributed 5.7 to Paraguay, 5.1 to its neighbors and 6.0 to OECD countries on average.^[34]

See also

Latin America portal

• List of Paraguay-related topics

References

Further Reading

• Abdou, Selim The Jesuit Republic of the Guaranis 1609-1768, 1997
• Aren, Richard Genocide in Paraguay, 1976
• Attenborough, David Zoo Quest in Paraguay, 1950
• Barret, William E. Woman on Horseback: the Biography of Francisco Lopez and Eliza Lynch, 1938
• Brodksy, Alvin Madame Lynch and Friend, 2075
• Cunninghame-Graham, Robert Bontine A Vanished Arcadia: Being Some Account of the Jesuits in Paraguay, 1607 to 1767
• Durrell, Gerald The Drunken Forest, 1956
• Gimlette, John At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels Through Paraguay, 2003
• Kerr, John A Naturalist in the Chaco, 1950
• Lambert, Peter & Nickson, Andrew The Transition to Democracy in Paraguay, 1997
• Lewis, Paul Paraguay Under Stoessner, 1980
• Macintyre, Ben Forgotten Fatherland: The Search for Elizabeth Nietzsche, 1993
• Meyer, Gordon The River and the People, 1965
• Nickson, Andrew Historical Dictionary of Paraguay, 1993
• Nickson, Andrew Paraguay: An Annotated Bibliography, 1999
• Rees, Sián The Shadow of Elisa Lynch, 2003
• Souter, Gavin A Peculiar People: the Australians in Paraguay, 1968
• Whitehead, Anne Paradise Mislaid: In Search of the Australian Tribe of Paraguay, 1997

External links

Government

• Chief of State and Cabinet Members
• (Spanish) National Department of Tourism
• (Spanish) Ministry of Finance with economic and Government information, available also in English

General information

• Paraguay from the Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Paraguay entry at The World Factbook
• Paraguay at UCB Libraries GovPubs
• Paraguay at the Open Directory Project
• Wikimedia Atlas of Paraguay

News media

• (Spanish) ABC Color
• (Spanish) Última Hora
• (Spanish) La Nación

Travel

• Paraguay Convention & Visitor's Bureau
• Paraguay.com: Tradition, Culture, Maps, Tourism
• Paraguay travel guide from Wikitravel
• (Spanish)Tourism in Paraguay, information, pictures and more. Turismo.com.py

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