Paraguay
| Republic of Paraguay República del Paraguay Tetã Paraguái | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 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, -57.667 | |||||
| Official languages | Spanish, Guaraní [1] | |||||
| Demonym | Paraguayan | |||||
| Government | Constitutional presidential republic | |||||
| - | President | Fernando Lugo | ||||
| - | Vice President | Federico Franco | ||||
| Independence | from Spain | |||||
| - | Declared | May 14, 1811 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 406,752 km2 (59th) 157,048 sq mi | ||||
| - | Water (%) | 2.3 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | July 2005 estimate | 6,158,000 (101st) | ||||
| - | Density | 15/km2 (192n) 39/sq mi | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2007 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $27.207 billion[2] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $4,509[2] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2007 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $11.954 billion[2] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $1,981[2] | ||||
| 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 Spanish pronunciation: [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, bordering Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Due to its central location in South America, the country is sometimes referred to as Corazón de América — Heart of America.[3]
Contents1 Etymology
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Etymology
The country is named for a river that runs almost right through the middle of it, 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 = great river or sea; Gua = from or belonging to or place; Y = water or river or lake. This could lead to:
- "Water or river belonging to the sea" (the Atlantic Ocean).
- "Water or river that belongs to a great river" (the Paraná River).
- "Water or river that comes from a sea" or "water or river from the place where the sea is" (the Pantanal wetland).
History
Pre-Columbian society in the wooded, fertile region which is now present-day Paraguay consisted of seminomadic, Guarani-speaking tribes, who were recognized for their fierce warrior traditions. 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 their destruction by the Spanish crown in 1767. Paraguay declared its independence after overthrowing the local Spanish administration on May 14, 1811.
Paraguay's history has been characterized by long periods of authoritarian governments, political instability and infighting, and devastating wars with its neighbors. Its post-colonial history can be divided into several distinct periods:
- 1811 - 1816: Establishment and consolidation of Paraguay's Independence
- 1816 - 1840: Governments of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia
- 1840 - 1865: Governments of Carlos Antonio Lopez and Francisco Solano Lopez
- 1865 - 1870: War of the Triple Alliance
- 1870 - 1904: Post-war reconstruction and Colorado Party governments
- 1904 - 1932: Liberal Party governments and prelude to the Chaco War
- 1932 - 1935: Chaco War
- 1935 - 1940: Governments of the Revolutionary Febrerista Party and Jose Felix Estigarribia
- 1940 - 1948: Higinio Morinigo government
- 1947 - 1954: Paraguayan Civil War (March 1947 until August 1947) and the re-emergence of the Colorado Party
- 1954 - 1989: Alfredo Stroessner dictatorship
- 1989 to date: Transition to democracy
In addition to the Declaration of Independence, the War of the Triple Alliance and the Chaco War are milestones in Paraguay's history. 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 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 percent of the vote compared to almost 31 percent for Blanca Ovelar of the Colorado party.[4]
Politics
Paraguay's politics take place in a framework of a presidential 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.
Politics in 1970s
After World War II,
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.
The PLRA leader Domingo Laíno served as the focal point with three former United States ambassador to Paraguay, and a group of Uruguayan and spite the international contingent, the lightning demonstrations (mítines relámpagos), especially in rural areas. Such demonstrations were held and disbanded quickly before the arrival of the police.
New Guinea 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.[5]
Law
Paraguay's legal system is based on Roman law, Argentine codes, and French codes.[citation needed] 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.
Departments and districts
Paraguay consists of seventeen departments and one capital district (distrito capital): These are, with their capitals indicated:
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The departments are further divided into districts (distritos).
Largest cities 2002 (from www.citypopulation.de)
- Asunción 512,000
- Ciudad del Este 222,000
- San Lorenzo 204,000
- Luque 171,000
- Capiatá 154,000
- Lambaré 120,000
- Fernando de la Mora 114,000
- Limpio 73,000
- Ñemby 72,000
- Encarnación 67,000
Projected, estimate 2027
- Ciudad del Este 1,100,000
- San Lorenzo 725,000
- Luque 684,000
- Capiatá 616,000
- Asunción 538,000
- Limpio 292,000
- Ñemby 288,000
- Mariano Roque Alonso 261,000
- Lambaré 193,000
- Fernando de la Mora 184,000
Geography
Paraguay is divided by the Rio Paraguay into the eastern region —officially called Eastern Paraguay (Paraguay Oriental) and known as the Paraneña region — and the western region — officially Western Paraguay (Paraguay Occidental) and also known as the Chaco.
The southeastern border is formed by the Paraná River, containing the Itaipu dam shared with Brazil. It is currently the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world, generating all the electricity required by Paraguay. Because Paraguay co-owns Itaipu Dam, they have the right to use 50% of electricity generated.[citation needed] Because they use less than 10% of that electricity produced, they sell the rest back to Brazil. Another large hydroelectric power plant on the Paraná River is Yacyretá, shared by Paraguay and Argentina. Paraguay is currently the world's largest exporter of hydroelectric power.[citation needed]
The terrain is made up 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.[citation needed]
Economy
Paraguay is a developing country with a 2005 Human Development Index score of 0.755.[6] 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.[7] However, Asuncion in Paraguay is ranked as the world's least expensive city to live in for the fifth year running.[8]
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 soybeans, and its beef exports are substantial for a country of its size. A 23.Aug.2008 Financial Times article about Paraguay[9] 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."[10]
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 neighbors and major trade partners. Roughly 38% of the GDP derives from trade and exports to Brazil and Argentina.[11]
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 now 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.[12]
Bilateral 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 total Paraguay’s trade. The EU market represents 13.7% of Paraguay exports and 6.1% of its imports.[13]
While the country’s external debt remains satisfactory (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 very vulnerable to climatic factors and price volatility. In 2004 its main exports were soybeans (35%) and meat (10%). Because of the regional crisis, very limited economic growth (2.7% in 2005) and a population increase, GDP per capita has fallen considerably in the long term, standing at USD 1 155 in 2005. Combined with inequality, the aforementioned factors explain why poverty currently affects 40% of the population.[14]
Although only 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.[15]
Demographics
According to the CIA World Factbook, Paraguay has a population of 6,669,086; 95% of which are mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) and 5% are "other".[7] Ethnically, culturally, and socially, Paraguay has one of the most homogeneous populations in Latin America with 95% of the people mestizos of mixed Spanish and Amerindian, mostly Guaraní Indian, descent. One trace of the original Guaraní culture that has endured is the Guaraní language, spoken by up to 90% of the population in the country.[16] 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.[17]
About 75% of all Paraguayans can speak Spanish[citation needed]. Guaraní and Spanish are both official languages.Spanish is spoken by about an 86 per cent as the first and second country's language. Spanish is the most used language.[1]
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, that accounts for 10% of the country's population. The Gran Chaco region, which includes the Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Presidente Hayes Department, and which accounts for about 60% of the territory, is home to less than 2% of the population.
Religion
- Main article – Religion in Paraguay
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% practise indigenous religions and 0.3 profess non-Christian religions.[18]
A US 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.[18]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, Mormon), claims more than 66,000 members in Paraguay and that its membership has doubled in the past five years.[19]
Immigration
European and Middle Eastern immigrants began making their way to Paraguay in the decades following the War of the Triple Alliance.
In addition, official records gave an imprecise sense of the number of Brazilians who had come to the country. According to the 1982 census, there were 99,000 Brazilians residing in Paraguay. actual number of Koreans and ethnic Chinese, however, was believed to be between 30,000 and 50,000. Virtually all Koreans and ethnic Chinese lived in Ciudad del Este or Asunción and played a major role in the importation and sale of electronic goods manufactured in Asia.[20]
Culture
- See also: Music of Paraguay and Cinema of Paraguay
Social issues
Paraguay is a poor and unequal society. Various poverty estimates suggest that between one in every three Paraguayans (World Bank Poverty Assessment) to half of the population is poor (2003 Census Bureau Household Survey). 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 only 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.[21] This inequality has caused a great deal of tensions between the landless and elites.[22]
The World Bank has helped the Paraguayan government in tackling overall reduction of 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 at 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.[23]
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