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Paraguay

Tuesday, 13 May 2008

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Paraguay is one of only two landlocked countries in South America (the other being Bolivia). The Republic is named after the huge river that runs through it from north to south.

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 or Bolivia, and even European and North American authors have been unable to avoid bias. Following the Second World War 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.A series of unstable governments ensued until the establishment in 1954 of the stable regime of Alfredo Stroessner, who remained in office for more than three decades. Alfredo Stroessner's regime slowly modernized Paraguay, although his rule was hampered by human rights abuse. His most famous project was the Itaipu dam, which today supplies electricity to a substantial part of South America. Paraguay is the world's largest net exporter of electricity.

Economically, Paraguay is a founding member of Mercosur, the South American common market formed in 1991. Despite a significant informal sector in import/export of electronic goods and vehicles, Paraguay's largest economic activity is 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.

Paraguay's economic potential has been historically constrained by its landlocked geography, but with improved infrastructure and access to world markets, this is changing. As an article in the Financial Times stated on 23rd August 2008, “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.”

The population of the country is just under seven million. The population of Paraguay is distributed very unevenly. 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, meanwhile - which includes the Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Presidente Hayes Departments - accounts for about 60% of the territory but is home to less than 2% of the population.

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