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Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the '''Republic of Paraguay''' (Spanish language|Spanish: ''República del Paraguay'' ; Guaraní language|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, and is located in the center of South America, the country is sometimes referred to as ''Corazón de América'' - Heart of America[Paraguay, corazón de América (1961)][La historia del Paraguay]["El corazón de América. Un viaje por Paraguay"][Espacio para historia del Suizo] along with Bolivia[South America's New Hero: Indian, Coca Farmer, Bolivian President - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News] .[Amazon.com: Brazil:Heart of South America: Video Visits: Video][Harvesting Leads to Heart of South America - New York Times]
Etymology
The country is named for a Paraguay River|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 language|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).
The fourth version states that it could be a corruption from Payaguá-y, "river of the Payaguás", a tribe that inhabited the banks and navigated its course.
History
Pre-Columbian civilization 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. European ethnic groups|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 colonization of the Americas|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:
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 or Bolivia, and even European and North American authors have been unable to avoid bias. Paraguay's history also has been a matter of dispute among Paraguay's main political parties, and there is a Colorado Party (Paraguay)|Colorado Party and Liberal Party (Paraguay)|Liberal Party official version of Paraguayan history. Certain historical events from the Colonial and early national era have been difficult to investigate due to the fact that during the pillaging of Asuncion Saqueo de Asunción, the Brazilian Imperial army ransacked and relocated the Paraguayan National archives to Rio de Janeiro. The majority of the archives have been mostly under secret seal since then, in effect, precluding any historical investigation.
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.[BBC NEWS | Americas | Country profiles | Country profile: Paraguay]
Politics
Paraguay's politics takes place in a framework of a presidential system|presidential representative democracy|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 Congress of Paraguay|National Congress. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Politics in 1980s
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.[Paraguay Civil War 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 the extensive human rights abuses of rival communists.[Alfredo Stroessner; Paraguayan Dictator]
The splits in the Colorado Party (Paraguay)|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 Authentic Radical Liberal Party|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 fifth 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.
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.
Despite limited campaign activities, the government reported that 88.7% of the vote went to Stroessner, 7.1% to PLR candidate Luis María Vega, and 3.2% to PL candidate Carlos Ferreira Ibarra. The remaining 1% of ballots were blank or annulled. The government also reported that 92.6% of all eligible voters cast their ballots. The National Coordinating Committee rejected the government's figures, contending that abstention was as high as 50% in some areas. In addition, election monitors from twelve countries, including the United States, France, Spain, Brazil, and Argentina, reported extensive irregularities.
Shortly after the elections, researchers from the Catholic University of Our Lady of Asunción and the West German Friedrich Naumann Foundation released the findings of a public opinion poll that they had conducted several weeks earlier. The poll, which measured political attitudes of urban Paraguayans - defined as those living in towns with at least 2,500 residents - suggested that the Colorado Party had considerable support, although nowhere near the level of official election statistics. Asked for whom they would vote in an election involving the free participation of all parties and political movements, 43% named the Colorado Party; the PLRA, which finished second in the poll, was mentioned by only 13% of all respondents. Stroessner's name also topped the list of those political leaders considered most capable of leading the country.
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.
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.[U.S. Library of Congress, "Country Stydies: Paraguay", retrieved 10 June 2007.]
Law
Paraguay's legal system is based on Roman law, Argentine codes, and French codes. 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:
References
External links
- National Department of Tourism
- Ministry of Finance with economic and Government information, available also in English
- Tourism in Paraguay
- Encyclopaedia Britannica ''Paraguay'' Complete guide to Paraguay's history and culture
- CIA - The World Factbook: Paraguay
- Paraguay Convention & Visitor's Bureau
Newspapers
- ABC Color
- Última Hora
- La Nación
Category:Paraguay|
Category:Landlocked countries
Category:Former Spanish colonies
Category:Spanish-speaking countries
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be-x-old:Параґвай
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Related Images- Rendition of Paraguayan soldier grieving the loss of his son by José Ignacio Garmendia
- 300px
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