Paraguay

The Paraguay is a landlocked country located in South America. Surrounded by the Argentinian , the Brazil and the Bolivia, it occupies a surface of 406.750 km ².

The country counted 6.347.884 inhabitants in 2005. The capital is Asunción.

History

XVIIe and XVIIIe centuries

The Européens arrived in the area at the 16th century, Asunción was founded by Juan de Salazar in 1537, the day of the Assomption, from where its initial name Nuestra Señora of Asunción (Notre-Dame of the Assumption). Asunción became an important city on the American continent.

Many missions Jesuit S and many Colons passed by this city. The years 1610 - 1767 were those of the domination Jésuite on the Indiens Guaranis of the province Jésuite of Paraguay, which included/understood part of current Paraguay, but also part of the Brésil and Argentine (current Argentinian state of the Misiones ). The presence Jésuite appeared in particular by creation, starting from 1609, of Réductions , villages made up of several hundreds or thousands of Indiens sedentarized and framed only by two Jésuite S. One could in this respect speaking about " Christian Communism " (Clovis Hugon), insofar as the life of the Guarani S Community (until the distribution each morning of the tools to go to work with the fields) and were strongly framed by the religion (obligatory mass at 5:30 in the morning and day rythmée by the religious celebrations).

In 1611, by the ordinances of Alfaro, the Spanish monarchy provides at this institution a clear legislative base. The reductions are strictly prohibited with the Blancs, Noirs and Métis. The Indiens are exempted system of the Encomienda , according to which Indians, entrusted to a colonist, were to receive from him protection and Christian instruction in exchange of work on its exploitation.

The province of Paraguay belonged to the Viceroyalty the Top Peru until the creation of the Viceroyalty of the Rio of Plata in 1778, whose Paraguay became one of the Intendances in 1783, and was located in a strategic area, crossing point between the Peruvian mines (in particular mines of money of Potosi) (in Bolivia) and the port of Buenos Aires, by which metals gained the Spain. Consequently, the economy of the reductions was related to the mining activity: the Guarani S raised Bétail for the meat and the Cuir (which was in particular used to manufacture bags for the minors) and of the Mules intended to transport the material in the escarpées mine fields.

However, the system of the reductions Jésuite S displeased to the Spanish colonists and Portuguese, insofar as the ordinances of Alfaro withdrew the Guaranis from the encomienda . Raid S of eager colonists of rafler of the Esclaves were organized, and this all the more easily as the reductions joined together an significant amount of Indians in the same place. It was in particular the case in the years 1630, with the raids of the Bandeirantes , colonists Portuguese of the town of São Paulo near. Consequently, the king of Spain authorized the Guarani S to arm and constitute Milices. In 1641 was held the battle of the Rio Mbororé, victory of the Guarani S and their Jésuite S against the Paulistes. These confrontations were also related to the competition of the two great empires Spanish and Portuguese.

In 1750 was signed the treaty of Madrid or was treated limits between the monarchies Spanish and Portuguese: in exchange of the evacuation by the Portuguese of the place of Colônia (space of smuggling and Portuguese threat on Buenos Aires, located on the other side of the Rio of Plata), the king of Spain, which had however granted to the Jésuite S the Administration of the zone, was to make evacuate seven reductions located at the east of the Fleuve Uruguay and to yield this territory to the Portuguese. The refusal of the Guarani S appeared by the Guerre of the 7 reductions, of 1754 with 1756, under the aegis of the Cacique (usual Chef) and Corrégidor (" President " " Municipal council " of a reduction) Nicolas Neengiru.

This episode consolidated the rumors which circulated then in Europe, making these reductions a true State in the State with the hands of the Jésuite S, exploiting the Guarani S to arrive to ultimement fighting at the same time the Spanish and the Portuguese. The rumor even wanted that this State is controlled by a Empereur (answering precisely, like Neengiru, with the first name of Nicolas) and than it strikes its clean Monnaie (some affirm to have seen specimens of them). All that was not without influencing in the decision taken by Portuguese monarchy in 1759, then by the Spanish monarchy in 1767, to expel the Jésuite S of the American empires.

XIXe century

A " Cuartelazo ", the occupation of the military General headquarter to Asuncion in the night of the 14 with the May 15th 1811 by a few tens of men, is retained like dates official from the proclamation of the Indépendance. However, the May 17th, a Triumvirat which had been made up following this action gave an opinion with regard to the Junte which had been established with Buenos Aires, " always recognizing the unhappy sovereign under the auspices of which we live (Fernand VII of Spain), us linking and confederating us with the town of Buenos Aires itself, " etc The June 20th, the members of a Junta designated by the Congrès of the Province of Paraguay lent oath to obey no other sovereign but Fernand VII. The October 12th 1811 was signed with Buenos Aires a treated of trade, on the borders and of friendship which, in its article 5, devoted the recognition by Buenos Aires of the independence of Paraguay. Negotiated mainly by the doctor Francia, this one, after patiently having eliminated its rivals and having woven a network in the country, will become " Dictator " elected official for 5 years the October 3rd 1814. It will remain it until its death which has occurred the September 20th 1840. Very discussed, its " règne" , isolating almost completely the country from the outside world, allowed to save in Paraguay the constant disorders which agitated the other Spanish ex-colonies and the Alphabétisation of the near total of the population, even if teaching were prohibited, except exception, beyond what we would call the elementary school. Peace with license with the population to enjoy a relative wellbeing. Replaced after its death by Carlos Antonio López, as strange, but conscious character as the country could not remain eternally closed, this one reiterated the proclamation of independence in 1842 in order to put a term at the periodic claims of Buenos Aires on the old province. It opened the Frontières précautionneusement, important of know-how and the modern equipment (Railroad, Shipyards, etc) and gave to the country an economic power without comparison with that of its neighbors. The Congress authorized it in 1856 to designate a successor Intérimaire by sealed fold. He died the September 10th 1862 and the successor in question was one of his sons, Francisco Solano Lopez, which he had named with the head of the Armée and which he had sent to lead various Ambassade S near the powers of the time. He convened a Congress for the October 12th 1862 which it " choisit" like President. Extremely economic means left by his father, it prepared with the war which was to burst in 1865, the weight of Paraguay and its refusal to fold in front of the requirements of the Libre trade preached by the Great Britain, relayed by the Argentine and the Brésil, indeed seemed to lead to a confrontation, all the more inescapable as Francisco Solano Lopez presented a tendency " napoléonienne" definitely more marked than a taste for the diplomatic operation.

Paraguay engaged in the " War of Triple Alliance " name of its three united enemies, Argentina, Brazil and the Uruguay (1865 - 1870). Control imprudently on strategic planning at the beginning of the war, four years were only those of a slow fold before the quasi-extermination of its people. Demolishes, eagerness mainly Brazilian armies and the been obstinated resistance of Francisco Solano Lopez leads to its death with the combat and the complete devastation of the populated part of the country, with the reduction of its population to a fraction of what it was before (probably between a third and half), causing an amazing demographic imbalance between the sexes (a man for two to four women), so much so that the Bigamie was authorized a time. It is also the period of the Enfants soldiers. It lost there also territories which it badly controlled around its current area in the East of the Fleuve Paraguay. The country, from now on, knew an existence aligned on that of the other countries of the area. The economy is restored at the level former to the war only one about fifty year afterwards. It had to face a second war, the Guerre of Chaco - 1932 - 1935. Attacked by the Bolivia, it gained at the expense of this one most of the Chaco which she asserted. In fact, the conquered area was controlled by no country except for its fringes, situation frequent between the old Spanish and Portuguese colonies of Latin America, which gave place to the development of the legal theory known as of the " Uti possidetis " : the ground belonged to that which occupied it. The essence of the territory which was then recognized to him did not include/understand a economic Ressources notable (the largely diffused thesis according to which it would have been started to seek there Pétrole under the American influence does not rest on nothing serious), the main resource, the " quebracho " , a tree with slow growth with the trunk rich in Tannin then essential to industries of the Leather, being already under Paraguayan sovereignty in fact and Argentinian economic domination along the High-Paraguay.

It is starting from the end of this war that the political clouts under the influence of Argentina then, with less title, of Brazil, gathered, in synthesis, between " Liberal " (" bleus") and " nationalist liberals " (" rouges" or " colorados"), had to yield the capacity to Military regimes under the pressure in particular of the war veterans of Chaco and the Colonel Franco which will found the party " Fébrériste". The political orientation of those went from a democratic tendency (Jose Felix Estigarribia, " General of the victoire" war of Chaco, elected official the April 30th 1939, deceased in an air crash the September 7th 1940) until a tendency influenced by the local adaptation of the Fascism (General Victor Morinigo, December 24th 1940, with progressive loss of influence until the January 12th 1947), to emerge, the " colorados" then dominant, over one period of Civil wars (1947), Coups d'etat and disorders which victorious to final the Général Alfredo Stroessner in 1954 will leave. The dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, which lasted 35 years, was reversed in 1989 under the pressure of the the United States. The Brésil offered the political asylum to him until its death in 2006. Currently, the Colorado party, that Alfredo Stroessner had cored with its profit, like all the lobbies (Syndicats, organizations coeds, professional orders, rural organizations), remains with the capacity at the price of a setting to the last style: the presidential elections are thus from now on formally free and, in theory, without handling. But their democratic range remains doubtful taking into account the system of “customers” and the Corruption subjacent present at all the administrative levels of the state.

Elections to renew the President and both Chambres took place the April 27th 2003. Nicanor Duarte Frutos, of the Colorado party, was elected President.

Policy

Departments

Geography

Land borders

1.880 km with the Argentinian
1.290 km with the Brazil
750 km with the Bolivia

Natural resources

Iron
Calcareous Manganese
Wood
Hydraulic power

Economy

Demography

Culture

Official languages

In Paraguay, there exist 2 Official languages: the guarani and the Spanish . Paraguay is one of the rare countries of Latin America where the Indian language is recognized for a long time.

94% of the total Population speak the guarani. 39,2% are Unilingue S guarani, 48,9% are Bilingue S guarani-Spanish and 2,7% speak another Indian language with sometimes the guarani like second language. With the proximity of the Brazil, 3,2% speak the Portuguese. There is only 6% of unilingual Spanish and this percentage decreases because bilingualism is essential in all the spheres of the company. 55% of the Paraguayans can thus be expressed in Spanish. There are on the whole 21 living languages: the Aitch, the German standard (immigration), the Ayoreo, the Eastern Bolivian , the Chamacoco, the Chiripá, the Chorote iyo' wujwa, Spanish, the Guana, the guaraní, the Guaraní mbyá, the Paraguayan Guaraní, the Lengua, the Maca, the Maskoy pidgin, the Nivaclé, the Pai will tavytera, the Plautdietsch (German of the mennonites), Portuguese, the Sanapaná, the Tapieté, the Toba and the Toba-maskoy. Then, a disappeared language, the Emok. Dice 1624, the missionaries Jésuites had made guarani only the Amerindian Langue written of all the continent. Even, if both Langues have a equal Statut, in the Administration, the Justice, the Enseignement and of the Média, it is Spanish who largely asserts itself.

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