Paraguay
Republic of Paraguay República del Paraguay Tetã Paraguái | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Paz y justicia (Spanish) "Peace and justice" | |
| Anthem: Paraguayos, República o Muerte | |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Asunción |
| Official languages | Spanish, Guaraní |
| Government | Constitutional republic |
| Nicanor Duarte Frutos | |
| Luis Castiglioni | |
| Independence from Spain | |
• Declared | May 14 1811 |
• Water (%) | 2.3 |
| Population | |
• July 2005 estimate | 6,158,000 (101st) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate |
• Total | $28.342 billion (96th) |
• Per capita | $4,555 (107th) |
| Gini (2002) | 57.8 high inequality |
| HDI (2004) | 0.757 high (91st) |
| Currency | Guaraní (PYG) |
| Time zone | UTC-4 |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-3 |
| Calling code | 595 |
| ISO 3166 code | PY |
| Internet TLD | .py |
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay pron. IPA [re'publika del para'ɣwai]; Guarani: Tetã Paraguái), is a landlocked country in South America. 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 very heart of South America. The name "Paraguay" is derived from the Guaraní word pararaguay meaning "from a great river". The "great river" is the Paraná River, which produces the greatest amount of hydroelectric power in the world. [1] [2]
History
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. 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. Paraguay declared its independence after overthrowing the local Spanish authorities 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 of Paraguay
- 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, Brazil or Bolivia. Even European and 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 and Liberal Party official version of Paraguayan history.
Politics
Paraguay's politics takes 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 pluriform 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.
Administrative divisions
Paraguay consists of seventeen departments and one capital district (distrito capital): These are, with their capitals indicated:
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Geography
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 nearly all of Paraguay's demand for electricity. 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.
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.
Economy
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. Also, a large percentage of the population derive their living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis.
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. Due to its meditereanity, Paraguay's economy is very dependent on Brazil and Argentina, its neighbours to the east, south and west. 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 port 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.
About 60% of the GDP derives from trade and exports to Brazil and Argentina. Despite difficulties arising from political instability, corruption and slow structural reforms, Paraguay has been a member of the free trade bloc Mercosur since 1991, participating as one of the founding members.
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 neighbours. In the "Shareholder Suits Index" category, Paraguay obtained 6 points, in contrast with 5.8 for its neighbours and 6.6 for OECD countries. The comprehensive "Investor Protection Index" attributed 5.7 to Paraguay, 5.1 to its neighbours and 6.0 to OECD countries on average[3].
Demographics
Ethnically, culturally, and socially, Paraguay has one of the most homogeneous populations in Latin America. About 90% of the people are mestizos of mixed Spanish and Guaraní Indian descent. One trace of the original Guaraní culture that still endures nowadays is the Guaraní language, spoken by 94% of the population in the country[citation needed]. About 75% of all Paraguayans can speak Spanish. Guaraní and Spanish are both official languages. Small groups of ethnic Italians, Germans, Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, Arabs, Brazilians, and Argentines settled in Paraguay and they have to an extent retained their respective languages and culture, particularly the Brazilians.
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, Asuncion, that accounts for 10% of the country's population. The Chaco, which accounts for about 60% of the territory, is home to less than 2% of the population.
The country is predominantly Roman Catholic, with some Mennonite, LDS, and other Protestant minorities.
Culture
Paraguayans' cultural ancestry can be traced to the extensive intermarriage among the original male Spanish settlers and female indigenous, Guarani, brides. Paraguayan culture therefore is a fusion of two cultures and traditions: one European, the other Guarani. More than 90% of Paraguayans are mestizos, and this makes Paraguay one of the most homogeneous countries in Latin America. A characteristic of this cultural fusion is the extensive bilingualism present to this day: more than 80% of Paraguayans speak both Spanish and the indigenous language, Guarani. Jopara, the mixture of Guarani and Spanish, is also widely spoken.
This cultural fusion is expressed in arts such as embroidery (ao po'í) and lace making (ñandutí). The music, which consists of lilting polkas, bouncy galopas, and languid guaranías is played on the native harp. Paraguay's culinary heritage is also deeply influenced by this cultural fusion. Several popular dishes contain mandioca, a local staple crop similar to the yuca root found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, and other indigenous ingredients. A popular dish is sopa paraguaya, similar to a thick corn bread. Another notable food is chipa, a bagel-like bread made from cornmeal, mandioca and cheese. Many other dishes consists of different kinds of cheeses, onions, bell peppers, cottage cheese, yellow cornmeal, milk, seasonings, butter, eggs and fresh corn kernels.
The 1950s and 1960s saw the flowering of a new generation of Paraguayan novelists and poets such as José Ricardo Mazó, Roque Vallejos, and Nobel Prize nominee Augusto Roa Bastos. Several Paraguayan films have been made.
There is a fairly high degree of mobility between classes, and even the poorest peasant displays a strong degree of personal pride.[citation needed]
Social life revolves largely around an extended family of parents, children and blood relations as well as godparents. The Paraguayans' chief loyalty is to their family, and it, in turn, is their haven and support. Family interests determine to a large extent which political party they will join, to whom they will marry, what sort of job they will get, whether they will win a lawsuit, and—in some cases—whether they would be wise to emigrate for a time. Even so, they are very heart warming and open to tourists and foreigners.
Inside the family, conservative values predominate. In lower classes, godparents have a special relationship to the family, since usually they are chosen because of their favorable social position, in order to provide extra security for the children. Particular respect is owed them, in return for which the family can expect protection and patronage. In higher classes, however, godparents are usually family members or family friends, thus being chosen is more of an honor than a serious commitment.[citation needed]
Paraguay has a great deal of land inequality. It is estimated that 1 percent of the population owns 77 percent of all the land. This inequality has cause a great deal of tensions between the landless and elites.[citation needed]
Social Issues
Paraguay is still 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, 41.2 percent of the people lack a monthly income to cover basic necessities, whereas in urban centers this figure is 27.6 percent. The top 10 percent of the population holds 43.8% of the national income, while the lowest 10 percent 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[4].
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 capacity[5].
See also
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Further reading
- Sandra Bao, Ben Greensfelder and Carolyn Hubbard, Lonely Planet Guide: Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay
International Rankings
| Organization | Survey | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal | Index of Economic Freedom, 2007 | 99 out of 157[6] |
| The Economist | Worldwide Quality of Life Index, 2005 | ??? |
| The Economist | Democracy Index, 2006 | 71 out of 167 |
| Reporters Without Borders | Worldwide Press Freedom Index, 2006 | 82 out of 168 |
| Transparency International | Corruption Perceptions Index, 2006 | 111 out of 163 |
| United Nations Development Programme | Human Development Index | 91 out of 177 |
References
- ^ http://www.itaipu.gov.py/
- ^ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1841.htm#econ
- ^ Doing Business website, "Doing Business in Paraguay", retrieved 18 June 2007.
- ^ Marió et al. (2004) Paraguay: Social Development Issues for Poverty Alleviation. World Bank report. Retrieved 18 June 2007.
- ^ The World Bank website, "Paraguay Mother & Child Basic Health Insurance", retrieved 18 June 2007.
- ^ The Heritage Foundation, "Index of Economic Freedom: Paraguay", retrieved 18 June 2007.
External links
- Template:Es National Department of Tourism
- Template:Es Ministry of Finance with economic and Government information, available also in english
- Template:Es Tourism in Paraguay
- Template:En icon Encyclopaedia Britannica Paraguay Complete guide to Paraguay's history and culture
- Template:En icon CIA - The World Factbook: Paraguay
- Template:En icon Paraguay Convention & Visitor's Bureau
- Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{langx|en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead. Paraguay.com Paraguay Resource Site. Culture, History, Arts, Geography and more.
- Template:Es The history of Paraguay Paraguay's history
- Newspapers
- Online media
- Template:Es Ciudad del Este Online Newspaper.
- Template:Es Jakueke News Portal -- Independent Media.
- Template:Es Neike Online Newspaper.
- Template:Es Portal Paraguayo de Noticias (Paraguayan News Portal).
- Template:En icon Paraguay main cities satellite views
- Search engines
