About

Geography

Area: 406,752 sq. km. (157,047 sq. mi.); about the size of California.
Cities: Capital–Asuncion (pop. 518,945). Other cities–Ciudad del Este, Concepcion, Encarnacion, Pedro Juan Caballero, Coronel Oviedo.
Terrain: East of the Paraguay River there are grassy plains, wooded hills, tropical forests; west of the Paraguay River (Chaco region) is low, flat, marshy plain.
Climate: Temperate east of the Paraguay River,    semiarid to the west.

 

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective–Paraguayan(s).
Population (July 2011 est., CIA World Factbook): 6,459,058.
Annual population growth rate (2011 est., CIA World Factbook): 1.284%.
Ethnic groups: Mixed Spanish and Indian descent (mestizo) 95%.
Religions: Roman Catholic 89.6%; Mennonite and other Protestant denominations.
Languages: Spanish (language of business and government), Guarani (spoken and understood by 90% of the population).
Education: Years compulsory–9. Attendance–87%. Literacy–94.7%. (Paraguayan Directorate of Statistics, Surveys, and Censuses)
Health: Infant mortality rate–23/1,000. Life expectancy–74 years male; 79 years female. (CIA World Factbook)
Work force (2010 est., 2.038 million): Agriculture–26.5%; manufacturing and construction–18.5%; services and commerce–55%. (CIA World Factbook)

 

Government

Type: Constitutional Republic.
Independence: May 1811.
Constitution: June 1992.
Branches: Executive–President. Legislative–Senate and Chamber of Deputies.Judicial–Supreme Court of Justice.
Administrative subdivisions: 17 departments, 1 capital city.
Political parties: National Republican Association/Colorado Party (ANR), Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA), Beloved Fatherland (PPQ), National Union of Ethical Citizens (UNACE), National Encounter Party (PEN), The Country in Solidarity Party (PPS), Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), Tekojoja Movement, and numerous small parties not represented in Congress.
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory by law up to age 75.

 

Economy

GDP (2011 est., Central Bank of Paraguay): $21.192 billion.
Annual growth rate (2011 est., International Monetary Fund): 5.5%.
Per capita GDP (2011 est., International Monetary Fund): $3,230.
Unemployment (2011 est., International Monetary Fund): 5.9%
Natural resources: Hydropower, timber, iron ore, manganese, limestone.
Agriculture (20% of GDP): Products–soybeans, cotton, beef, pork, cereals, sugarcane, cassava, fruits, vegetables. Arable land–9 million hectares, of which 35% is in production.
Manufacturing and construction (16% of GDP): Types–sugar, cement, textiles, beverages, wood products.

Trade (2010): Exports–$4.534 billion: soybeans and soy-related products, cereals, beef, wood, leather, cotton, sugar, apparel, edible oils, electricity, tobacco. Major markets–Brazil (15%), Uruguay (22%), Chile (12%), Argentina (12%), and the United States in 11th place with 2%. Imports–$9.4 billion: machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical machinery, equipment, and materials; mineral fuels and lubricants; motor vehicles, tractors, parts and accessories; plastics and articles thereof; fertilizers; beverages and tobacco; toys, games, and sporting equipment; chemical products; rubber and articles thereof; paper, paperboard and articles thereof. Major suppliers–China (32%), Brazil (24%), Argentina (16%), Japan (5%), and U.S. (5%).

 

PEOPLE

Paraguay’s population is distributed unevenly throughout the country. The vast majority of the people live in the eastern region, most within 160 kilometers (100 mi.) of Asuncion, the capital and largest city. The Chaco, which accounts for about 60% of the territory, is home to less than 2% of the population. Ethnically, culturally, and socially, Paraguay has one of the most homogeneous populations in South America. About 95% of the people are of mixed Spanish and Guarani Indian descent. Little trace is left of the original Guarani culture except the language, which is understood by 95% of the population. About 90% of all Paraguayans speak Spanish. Guarani and Spanish are official languages. Brazilians, Argentines, Germans, Arabs, Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese are among those who have settled in Paraguay with Brazilians representing the largest number.

 

HISTORY

Pre-Columbian civilization in the fertile, wooded region that is now Paraguay consisted of numerous semi-nomadic, Guarani-speaking tribes, who were recognized for their fierce warrior traditions. They practiced a myth-based polytheistic religion, which later blended with Christianity. Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar founded Asuncion on the Feast Day of the Assumption, August 15, 1537. The city eventually became the center of a Spanish colonial province. Paraguay declared its independence by overthrowing the local Spanish authorities in May 1811.

The country’s formative years saw three strong leaders who established the tradition of personal rule that lasted until 1989: Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, Carlos Antonio Lopez, and his son, Francisco Solano Lopez. The younger Lopez waged a war against Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil (War of the Triple Alliance, 1864-70) in which Paraguay lost half its population; afterward, Brazilian troops occupied the country until 1874. A succession of presidents governed Paraguay under the banner of the Colorado Party from 1880 until 1904, when the Liberal party seized control, ruling with only a brief interruption until 1940.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Paraguayan politics were defined by the Chaco war against Bolivia, a civil war, dictatorships, and periods of extreme political instability. Gen. Alfredo Stroessner took power in May 1954. Elected to complete the unexpired term of his predecessor, he was re-elected president seven times, ruling almost continuously under the state-of-siege provision of the constitution with support from the military and the Colorado Party. During Stroessner’s 35-year reign, political freedoms were severely limited, and opponents of the regime were systematically harassed and persecuted in the name of national security and anticommunism. Though a 1967 constitution gave dubious legitimacy to Stroessner’s control, Paraguay became progressively isolated from the world community.

On February 3, 1989, Stroessner was overthrown in a military coup headed by Gen. Andres Rodriguez. Rodriguez, as the Colorado Party candidate, easily won the presidency in elections held that May, and the Colorado Party dominated the Congress. In 1991 municipal elections, however, opposition candidates won several major urban centers, including Asuncion. As president, Rodriguez instituted political, legal, and economic reforms and initiated a rapprochement with the international community.

The June 1992 constitution established a democratic system of government and dramatically improved protection of fundamental rights. In May 1993, Colorado Party candidate Juan Carlos Wasmosy was elected as Paraguay’s first civilian president in almost 40 years in what international observers deemed fair and free elections. The newly elected majority-opposition Congress quickly demonstrated its independence from the executive by rescinding legislation passed by the previous Colorado-dominated Congress. With support from the United States, the Organization of American States, and other countries in the region, the Paraguayan people rejected an April 1996 attempt by then-Army Chief Gen. Lino Oviedo to oust President Wasmosy, taking an important step to strengthen democracy.

Oviedo became the Colorado candidate for president in the 1998 election, but when the Supreme Court upheld in April his conviction on charges related to the 1996 coup attempt, he was not allowed to run and remained in confinement. His running mate, Raul Cubas Grau, became the Colorado Party’s candidate and was elected in May. The assassination of Vice-President Luis Maria Argana and the killing of eight student anti-government demonstrators, allegedly carried out by Oviedo supporters, led to Cubas’ resignation in March 1999. The President of the Senate, Luis Gonzalez Macchi, assumed the presidency and completed Cubas’ term. Gonzalez Macchi offered cabinet positions in his government to senior representatives of all three political parties in an attempt to create a coalition government that proved short-lived. Gonzalez Macchi’s government suffered many allegations of corruption, and Gonzalez himself was found not guilty in a Senate impeachment trial involving corruption and mismanagement charges in February 2003.

In April 2003, Colorado candidate Nicanor Duarte Frutos was elected president. Duarte’s administration established a mixed record on attacking corruption and improving the quality of management. Duarte worked constructively with an opposition-controlled Congress, removing six Supreme Court justices suspected of corruption from office and enacting major tax reforms. Macroeconomic performance improved significantly under the Duarte administration, with inflation falling significantly, and the government clearing its arrears with international creditors. In June 2004, Oviedo returned to Paraguay from exile in Brazil and was imprisoned for his 1996 coup-plotting conviction. In November 2007, Oviedo’s criminal charges were overturned by the Supreme Court, and he was allowed to participate in the April 2008 presidential elections.

On April 20, 2008, former Roman Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo (representing a coalition of opposition parties) was elected President. According to the National Election Tribunal (TSJE), Lugo won 40.8% of the vote. Colorado candidate Blanca Ovelar came in second with 30.6% of the vote, and UNACE’s Lino Oviedo came in third with 21.9% of the vote. President Lugo assumed office on August 15, 2008. Lugo has identified reduction of corruption and economic inequality as two of his priorities.

 

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Paraguay’s highly centralized government was fundamentally changed by the 1992 constitution, which provides for a division of powers. The president, popularly elected for a 5-year term, appoints a cabinet. The bicameral Congress consists of an 80-member Chamber of Deputies and a 45-member Senate, elected concurrently with the president through a proportional representation system. Deputies are elected by department and senators are elected nationwide. Paraguay’s highest judicial body is the Supreme Court. A popularly elected governor heads each of Paraguay’s 17 departments.

 

Principal Government Officials

President–Fernando Armindo Lugo Mendez
Vice President–Luis Federico Franco Gomez
Minister of Foreign Affairs–Jorge Lara Castro
Ambassador to the U.S.–Rigoberto Gauto Vielman
Ambassador to the OAS–Bernardino Hugo Saguier Caballero
Ambassador to the UN–Jose Antonio Dos Santos

Paraguay maintains an embassy in the United States at 2400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-483-6960). Consulates are in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles.

 

ECONOMY

Paraguay has a predominantly agricultural economy, with a struggling commercial sector. There is a large subsistence sector, including sizable urban unemployment and underemployment, and a large underground re-export sector. The country has vast hydroelectric resources, including the world’s second-largest hydroelectric generation facility built and operated jointly with Brazil (Itaipu Dam), but it lacks significant mineral or petroleum resources. The government welcomes foreign investment in principle and accords national treatment to foreign investors. The economy is dependent on exports of soybeans, cotton, grains, cattle, timber, and sugar; electricity generation, and to a decreasing degree on re-exporting to Brazil and Argentina products made elsewhere. It is, therefore, vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and to the fortunes of the Argentine and Brazilian economies. Given the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain.

Paraguay’s 2011 GDP is estimated at $21.192 billion. The economy’s 2011 estimated growth rate is 5.5%. In 2010, per capita GDP increased to $2,703 from $2,336 in 2009. The account deficit increased from -0.22% of GDP in 2009 to -1.49% of GDP in 2010. In 2009, official foreign exchange reserves rose to $3.8 billion, up from $2.8 billion in 2008, and over five times the figure for 2002 ($582.8 million). As of April 2011, inflation was 4.4%, up from 2.6% in 2009, but below the 2008 level of 7.5%.

 

Agriculture and Commerce

Agricultural activities, most of which are for export, represent about 20% of GDP and employ about one-quarter of the work force. More than 250,000 families depend on subsistence farming activities and maintain marginal ties to the larger productive sector of the economy. In addition to the commercial sector with retail, banking, and professional services, there is significant activity involving the import of goods from Asia and the United States for re-export to neighboring countries. The underground economy, which is not included in the national accounts, may be almost twice the size of the formal economy in size, although greater enforcement efforts by the tax administration and customs are having an impact on the informal sector.

According to the Central Bank of Paraguay, Paraguay’s exports were $1.66 billion by April 2011. That was an 8.7% increase over exports as of April 2010. Imports as of April 2011 were $3.39 billion, a 26.9% increase over April 2010.

 

DEFENSE

The constitution designates the president as commander in chief of the armed forces. Military service is compulsory, and all 18-year-old males–and 17-year-olds in the year of their 18th birthday–are eligible to serve for 1 year on active duty. However, the 1992 constitution allows for conscientious objection. Of the three services, the army has the majority of personnel, resources, and influence. With about 7,000 personnel, it is organized into three corps, with six infantry divisions and three cavalry divisions. The military has two primary functions: national defense (including internal order) and engaging in civic action programs as directed by the president. The navy consists of approximately 2,000 personnel and in addition to its fleet, has an aviation section, a prefecture (river police), and a contingent of marines (naval infantry). The air force, the smallest of the services, has approximately 1,200 personnel.

 

 

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Paraguay is a member of the United Nations and several of its specialized agencies. It also belongs to the Organization of American States, the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), the Rio Group, INTERPOL, and MERCOSUR (the Southern Cone Common Market). Paraguay is closely aligned with its MERCOSUR partners on many political, economic, and social issues. It is the only country in South America that recognizes Taiwan and not the People’s Republic of China.

 

Via U.S. Department of State