republic, S central South America, bounded on the NW and N by Bolivia, on the NE and E by Brazil, and on the S, SE, and W by Argentina. The total area is 406,752 sq km (157,048 sq mi).

LAND AND RESOURCES

The Paraguay R. divides the landlocked country into sharply contrasting regions, namely, in the W, the Gran Chaco, or Paraguay Occidental, and in the E, Paraguay proper, or Paraguay Oriental. The Gran Chaco is part of an alluvial plain that extends from Paraguay into Bolivia on the W, Argentina on the S, and Brazil on the E. Grassy plains, swamps, and scrub forests cover the area. Underlying the Gran Chaco is a rock stratum containing salty water unsuitable for drinking and irrigation.

Paraguay proper consists mainly of the S extension of the Paraná plateau. This elevation, from 305 to 610 m (1000 to 2000 ft) high, forms a watershed that gives rise to numerous tributaries of the Paraguay and Paraná rivers. On its W edge the plateau falls off sharply to a region of fertile grassy foothills toward the Paraguay R.; in the E it descends gradually toward the Paraná R. (the upper reaches of which are also known as the Alto Paraná). The main rivers are the Paraná, the Paraguay, and the Pilcomayo. Lake Ypoá is the only large inland body of water. Guairá Falls on the Paraná R., on the Brazil-Paraguay border, was submerged in the reservoir formed by Itaipú dam.

Climate.

The climate of Paraguay is subtropical. At Asunción mean temperatures range from about 17.2° C (about 63° F) in July to about 26.7° C (about 80° F) in January. In the Chaco and other points to the N temperatures often reach 37.8° C (100° F). Annual rainfall averages some 1120 mm (some 44 in) in the Asunción area, some 815 mm (some 32 in) in the Gran Chaco, and some 1525 mm (some 60 in) in the E forest regions. The Chaco has heavy rainfall in the summer and almost no rain in the winter.

Natural Resources.

The primary resources of Paraguay are its fertile soil and its forests. It has few mineral resources; limestone, clay, and gypsum are the most important.

Plants and Animals.

The plants and animals of Paraguay are substantially the same as those of neighboring South American countries. Paraguay proper, where rainfall is heavy, is covered by dense evergreen forests interspersed with a wide variety of tropical grasses, ferns, palms, and exotic flowers. In the Gran Chaco region, vegetation is comparatively sparse but includes the red quebracho tree, a rich source of tannin extract. The plains are covered by coarse tropical reeds, grasses, and stunted trees.

The animals of Paraguay include armadillo, capybara, tapir, jaguar, anteater, wild boar, deer, alligator, and various species of snake. Among the local birds are toucan, ibis, heron, parrot, black duck, dove, partridge, rhea (American ostrich), and parakeet. Many of these birds exhibit strikingly beautiful plumage.

POPULATION

Paraguay has perhaps the most racially homogeneous population in South America. A large majority of the people are of mixed white (especially Spanish) and Guaraní Indian descent. Minority groups include individuals of pure Spanish ancestry, living mainly in Asunción; unassimilated Guaraní of the E forest region; and small colonies of immigrants from Japan, Italy, Portugal, Canada, and other countries. The Mennonites, a German-speaking religious sect, form a notable immigrant group.

Population Characteristics.

The population of Paraguay in 1992 was estimated at 4,123,550; for 2003 it was estimated at 5,878,000. The overall density was about 15 persons per sq km (about 37 persons per sq mi), one of the lowest in South America. Population is densest in the W Oriental and most sparse in the Chaco. Despite migration to urban areas in recent years, about 45 percent of the population still lives in rural areas.

Political Divisions.

Paraguay is divided into 17 departments, plus the capital district of Asunción. Fourteen of the departments are in Paraguay proper: Alto Paraná, Amambay, Caaguazú, Caazapá, Canendiyú, Central, Concepción, Cordillera, Guairá, Itapúa, Misiones, Ñeembucú, Paraguarí, and San Pedro. Three of the departments are in the Gran Chaco: Alto Paraguay, Boquerón, and Presidente Hayes. Each department has an elected governor and council.

Principal Cities.

Asunción (pop., 2001 est., 1,302,000), the capital of Paraguay, is also its leading city and commercial center. Other major municipalities, all near Asunción, include San Lorenzo (1992 census, 133,311), Lambaré (99,681), and Fernando de la Mora (95,287).

Language and Religion.

Paraguay is a bilingual country. Spanish is the official tongue; however, some 39 percent of the population speaks only Guaraní, 48 percent is bilingual, and 12 percent speaks only Spanish. Guaraní is the language used in most folk poems and songs and in books and periodicals. See Tupí-Guaraní.

Roman Catholicism has special status under the 1992 constitution and is the faith of more than 95% of all Paraguayans. Freedom of worship is extended to other faiths. Notable among Protestant groups is the Mennonite community.

Education.

Elementary education in Paraguay is free and nominally compulsory for children from 7 to 13 years of age. The number of schools is inadequate, however, and about 10% of the adult population is illiterate. In the early 1990s about 721,000 pupils were enrolled in primary schools per year, and about 169,200 students attended secondary, vocational, and teacher training schools. About 32,900 students attended institutions of higher education, which included the National University of Asunción (1889) and the Catholic University of Our Lady of Asunción (1960).

Culture.

Paraguayan culture is a blend chiefly of Guaranian and Spanish elements, supplemented by more recent Argentine, German, and Italian influences. The culture of Paraguay has remained isolated and therefore has retained many features introduced in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Spanish conquerors, artisans, and Jesuit missionaries. The Ateneo Paraguayo, a leading cultural center, sponsors art exhibits, lectures, and concerts, and Guaraní culture is promoted by the Academy of Guaraní Language and Culture, among other groups.

Libraries and museums.

Among the notable libraries are the National Library and Archives (1869) and the American Library of the National Museum of Fine Arts (1887), which also houses paintings and historical objects, and the library of the Paraguayan Scientific Society (1921); all are in Asunción. Other important museums in Asunción include the Ethnographical Museum (1929) and the Museum of Military History.

Literature and music.

Historical and legal writings occupy the leading place in Paraguayan literature; even poetry seldom loses touch with social realities. Among the foremost 20th-century Paraguayan writers are Juan Natalicio Gonzalez (1897–1966) and Manuel Ortiz Guerrero (1897–1933). See Latin American Literature.

From remote times, the Guaraní have used wind and percussion instruments, mostly wooden flutes, whistles, rattles, and bells. Guitars and harps, introduced by early Spanish settlers, are basic instruments of contemporary Paraguayan music. One of the oldest forms of Paraguayan popular music is the polka, and ballads and songs preserve much of the country's history and tradition. The Guarania, a song with a flowing lyric melody introduced in the early 20th century, is the first distinctive variation of the Hispanic colonial tradition. See Latin American Music.

Art.

Much Paraguayan art uses themes of indigenous folklore and of religion, frequently expressed in church decoration. The earliest well-defined Paraguayan art dates from colonial times when Jesuit and Franciscan missions established art schools. Examples of early art, in both baroque Spanish and Indian styles, include pediments adorned with figures of saints, pulpits, seats carved in stone, and magnificent wood-carved altarpieces.

Among the greatest names in modern Paraguayan art are the painters Pablo Alborno (1877–1965) and Juan Samudio (1878–1936). The most renowned Paraguayan craft is the production of the very delicate ñandutí lace. See Latin American Art and Architecture.

ECONOMY

In the early 1990s Paraguay had an annual gross national product of about $1380 per capita. The economy, which is based on agriculture, expanded rapidly during the 1970s. Since then, rapid population growth and high inflation have led to a decline in real per capita income. The annual budget in the early 1990s was balanced at about $1.2 billion.

Labor.

The government has virtually unlimited regulatory authority over trade union activity. Trade unionists in the early 1990s represented only 7% of the labor force. The Confederación Paraguaya de Trabajadores (Confederation of Paraguayan Workers) is the main labor union federation.

Agriculture.

The principal industry of Paraguay is farming. In the early 1990s the annual yields of leading agricultural products, in metric tons, were cassava (3.3 million), seed cotton (670,000), sugarcane (2.8 million), corn (466,000), soybeans (1.3 million), sweet potatoes (86,000), bananas (140,000), oranges (355,000), and wheat (272,000). Livestock breeding is a major agricultural occupation; Paraguay has approximately 7.8 million cattle, 350,000 horses, 380,000 sheep, and 2.6 million pigs.

Forestry and Fishing.

Forestry is very important to the economy of Paraguay. In the early 1990s about 8.5 million cu m (about 300 million cu ft) of timber were cut yearly; more than 60% of the wood was used for fuel. Other forest products include tannin and petitgrain oil, which is a perfume base. Fishing is negligible, the annual catch being some 13,000 metric tons.

Mining and Manufacturing.

Mining is unimportant in Paraguay. Although deposits of petroleum, iron, manganese, salt, and other minerals are reported, they are not exploited commercially. Limestone, extracted in significant amounts, was used in producing about 256,000 metric tons of cement annually in the early 1990s.

Manufacturing is confined largely to agricultural and forestry products and to basic consumer goods. Among the important products are packed meat and other foodstuffs, textiles, wood products, and chemicals.

Energy.

Almost all of Paraguay's electricity is produced in hydroelectric facilities. Output in the early 1990s was some 29.8 billion kwh annually. The great Itaipú hydroelectric project on the Paraná R. began operations in 1984.

Currency and Foreign Trade.

The basic unit of national currency is the guaraní (5915 guaranís equal U.S.$1; Sept. 2004). The Central Bank of Paraguay (1952) issues currency and controls exchange.

In the late 1990s Paraguay's annual imports cost $3.2 billion, and its exports earned $3.1 billion. Major imports included petroleum, transportation equipment, electrical machinery, and foodstuffs; leading exports were soybean products, cotton, oilseeds, and meat. The chief trade partners include Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands, the U.S., and the European Union.

Transportation.

Traditionally, more than 2900 km (more than 1800 mi) of internal waterways—chiefly the Paraná and Paraguay rivers—have provided the main means of transportation, with most of the boats owned by Argentine interests. More recently, however, road transportation has been significantly upgraded. In the late 1990s, Paraguay had about 29,500 km (about 18,330 mi) of roads, some 51% of which were paved. Paraguay is served by a section of the Pan-American Highway, and the Trans-Chaco Highway links Asunción with Bolivia. Paraguay has about 440 km (about 275 mi) of publicly operated railroad track. Asunción is served by an international airport completed in 1980. Facing bankruptcy, the state-owned airline Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas (LAP) was privatized in the mid-1990s and renamed Transportes Aéreos del Mercosur (TAM).

Communications.

In the late 1990s, Paraguay's underdeveloped telecommunications network included 288,500 main telephone lines, 215,300 cellular telephone subscribers, and 500,000 televisions; use of personal computers and the Internet remained limited. During the same period, the country had 10 television stations and more than 70 radio stations. The leading daily newspapers are published in Asunción.

GOVERNMENT

Paraguay is governed under a 1992 constitution that gives much power to the president but limits each holder of the office to one term.

Executive.

The head of state and head of government of Paraguay is a president, who is elected to a single 5-year term by a simple majority vote of the electorate. A vice-president is elected concurrently under the same conditions. The president is assisted by a council of ministers and is advised by a council of state.

Legislature.

Paraguay's bicameral national legislature consists of a senate, with 45 elective seats, and an 80-member chamber of deputies. Legislators are directly elected to terms of up to five years.

Judiciary.

The highest tribunal in Paraguay is the supreme court, made up of five judges chosen by the country's president. Other judicial bodies include courts of appeal, courts of first instance, magistrates' courts, and justices of the peace.

Political Parties.

The leading political organization in Paraguay is the Asociación Nacional Republicana, known as the Colorado party. Other groups include the Christian Democratic party and the Authentic Liberal Radical party.

Health and Welfare.

In the early 1990s life expectancy at birth in Paraguay averaged 69 years for women and 65 for men. The infant mortality rate was 48 per 1000 live births.

Defense.

The armed forces have long dominated political institutions in Paraguay. In the early 1990s the country's military included an army of 12,500 persons, a navy of 3000, and an air force of 1000. Military service by males is compulsory for 12 to 24 months.

International Organizations.

Paraguay is a member of the United Nations (UN), the Organization of American States (OAS), the World Trade Organization, the Latin American Integration Association, and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).

HISTORY

The aborigines of Paraguay were Indians of various tribes collectively known as Guaraní because of their common language. They were numerous when the country was visited probably about 1525 by the Portuguese explorer Alejo García (c. 1485–1526). During the next few years the Italian navigator Sebastian Cabot, then in the service of Spain, partly explored the rivers of the country.

Spanish Settlement.

In 1537 Spanish adventurers seeking gold established a fort on the Paraguay River, calling it Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. Colonial Paraguay and the territory of present-day Argentina were ruled jointly until 1620, when they became separate dependencies of the viceroyalty of Peru.

Beginning about 1609, the Jesuits, working under great hardship, established many missions called reducciones, which were settlements of Indian converts, whom the missionaries educated. The communal life on these settlements was similar to the original life of the Indians. Granted almost complete freedom from civil and ecclesiastical local authorities, the Jesuits, through the missions, became the strongest power in the colony. In 1750 King Ferdinand VI of Spain, by the Treaty of Madrid, ceded Paraguayan territory including seven reducciones to Portugal, and the Jesuits incited a Guaraní revolt against the transfer. In 1767 the missionaries were expelled from Spanish America, including Paraguay; soon thereafter, the missions were deserted.

In 1776 Spain created the viceroyalty of La Plata, which comprised present-day Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. Paraguay became an unimportant border dependency of Buenos Aires, the capital of the viceroyalty, and sank gradually into relative insignificance until the early 19th century.

Independence.

In 1810 Argentina proclaimed its independence of Spain, but Paraguay refused to join it and instead proclaimed its own independence on May 14, 1811. Three years later José Gaspar Rodríguez Francia made himself dictator and ruled absolutely until his death in 1840. Fearing that Paraguay might fall prey to stronger Argentina, Francia dictated a policy of national isolation. In the administrative reorganization following the dictator's death, his nephew Carlos Antonio López became the leading political figure. In 1844 López became president and dictator. He reversed the isolationist policy, encouraged commerce, instituted many reforms, and began building a railroad. Under his rule the population of Paraguay rose to more than 1 million persons.

Ruinous War.

At his death in 1862 López was succeeded by his son, Francisco Solano López. In 1865, desirous of building an empire for himself, he led the country into a war against an alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. The war devastated Paraguay, and when the death of López in 1870 ended the conflict, more than half of the population had been killed, the economy had been destroyed, and agricultural activity was at a standstill. Territorial losses exceeded 142,500 sq km (55,000 sq mi). The country was occupied by a Brazilian army until 1876, and the peace treaties imposed heavy indemnities on the country. In 1878 President Rutherford B. Hayes of the U.S. was arbiter in the settlement of boundaries between Argentina and Paraguay.

Reconstruction.

Paraguayan history after the war was largely an effort to reconstruct the country. Immigration was encouraged, and Paraguay established subsidized agricultural colonies. The unsettling effects of the war, however, were apparent for many decades, particularly from 1870 to 1912, when no president was able to serve out a full term. Subsequently, periods of political stability alternated with periods of ferment and revolt. The administration (1912–16) of Eduardo Schaerer (1873–1941) was relatively enlightened. The country remained neutral and prosperous during World War I, and the administrations of Manuel Gondra (1871–1927) in 1920–21, Eusebio Ayala (1875–1942) in 1921–23, and Eligio Ayala (1880–1930) in 1923–28 were on the whole periods of peace and progress. The border with Bolivia in the Gran Chaco, which had never been formally drawn, was the scene of numerous incidents between 1929 and 1932. In the latter year a full-scale war broke out when the area was invaded by Bolivia. An armistice was declared in 1935. In the final settlement, made by an arbitration commission in 1938, Paraguay was given about three-fourths of the disputed area. See also Chaco War.

After the war, the government was reorganized to permit widespread economic and social reforms. By a new constitution adopted in 1940, the state was given the power to regulate economic activities and the government was highly centralized. Paraguay declared war on Germany and Japan on Feb. 7, 1945. The country subsequently became a charter member of the UN.

Morínigo and Chávez.

In 1940 Gen. Higinio Morínigo (1897–    ) had made himself president and ruled as a dictator for the next eight years. A coup d'état deposed him in 1948. In September 1949, Federico Chávez (1880?–1978), an army-backed leader of a faction of the dominant Colorado party, was elected president without opposition. He imposed a dictatorship much like that of Morínigo. In March 1951 the Chávez regime devaluated the currency in an attempt to check inflation and the loss of gold reserves. The economic crisis was aggravated in 1952, when Argentina, itself the victim of depressed economic conditions, abrogated a barter agreement with Paraguay. During the year legislation granted various benefits to workers. In general elections, held on Feb. 15, 1953, President Chávez was reelected, again without opposition. He imposed wage and price controls in June 1953 to check inflation. On May 5, 1954, his government was overthrown by an army-police junta.

The Stroessner Regime.

The electorate on July 11 endorsed Gen. Alfredo Stroessner, commander in chief of the army and head of the Colorado party. He was the only candidate. Attempts by leftist forces to seize power were put down in 1956 and 1957. A plebiscite in 1958 confirmed President Stroessner for another 5-year term.

In elections for a new congress in 1960, all 60 seats were won by the president's supporters in the Colorado party. Diplomatic relations with Cuba were severed in December. Paraguay was among the states that favored collective action by the OAS against the Cuban regime, but such measures were not approved by the two-thirds majority required. In 1963 Stroessner was reelected, running against the first opposition candidate in a Paraguayan presidential election in 30 years. He enjoyed some popularity in the mid-1960s, partly because of continued economic progress, but many people had also fled into exile from his dictatorship. He continued in power in 1968 after altering the constitution in 1967 to permit his reelection. He was again elected in 1973, 1978, and 1983.

A significant step was taken by the Stroessner regime in the late 1960s with the establishment of close economic relations with neighboring countries. In May 1968 the La Plata Basin Pact was signed by the foreign ministers of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. This agreement, calling for joint development of the La Plata River Basin, was expected to stimulate the economy of the entire region and would be of special importance to Paraguay, the least developed nation in the area.

In the 1970s and early '80s Paraguay was relatively calm. Itaipú, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, was built on the Paraná River in a joint venture with Brazil. Inflation was controlled, but declining markets for Paraguayan exports led to rising unemployment and a worsening of the nation's trade position. The mid-1980s brought limited political liberalization.

After Stroessner.

Reelected to his eighth term in 1988, Stroessner was ousted in a military coup in February 1989. The coup leader, Gen. Andrés Rodríguez (1924–97), running as head of the Colorado party, won election as president in May. Although his program of privatizing state-owned enterprises failed to revive the economy, he kept his pledge to reform the constitution and give up power to a civilian successor. In the presidential election of May 1993, the Colorado nominee, Juan Carlos Wasmosy (1938–    ), won the office by only a plurality of the votes cast, becoming the nation's first civilian president in more than 30 years.

Wasmosy weathered a crisis in April 1996 after he dismissed Gen. Lino César Oviedo (1943–    ), the nation's army commander, for improper political activities. When Oviedo refused to accept the dismissal order and called on his supporters to take to the streets, Wasmosy first offered him the post of minister of defense, then withdrew the offer and charged him with plotting a coup. With Wasmosy barred by law from seeking a second term, Oviedo won the Colorado nomination in a primary election in September 1997. When a warrant was then issued for his arrest, the flamboyant populist eluded capture for weeks before surrendering to authorities in December. Originally expected to serve a jail term of no more than 30 days, he received a 10-year prison sentence from a military tribunal in March 1998. He was replaced on the ballot by his vice-presidential running mate, Raúl Cubas Grau (1943–    ), who went on to win the presidential election in May.

Inaugurated on July 15, 1998, Cubas freed Oviedo three days later. In December, however, Paraguay's supreme court ruled that Cubas had acted illegally and ordered that Oviedo be returned to prison. When Cubas refused to comply, the legislature voted in February 1999 to begin impeachment proceedings against him. The assassination (March 23) of Vice-President Luis María Argaña (1932–99), a prominent opponent of both Cubas and Oviedo, led the Chamber of Deputies to impeach Cubas. In the wake of violent protests in the capital during the next few days that left 6 people dead and nearly 200 injured, Cubas resigned on March 28, only a day before the senate was expected to vote to remove him from office; he was granted political asylum by Brazil, and Oviedo found refuge first in Argentina and then in Brazil. The Senate leader Luis Angel González Macchi (1947–    ), the next in the constitutional line of succession, was appointed caretaker president, forming a government of national unity.

In a special vice-presidential election in August 2000, the candidate of the Authentic Liberal Radical party, Julio Cesar Franco (1952?–    ), narrowly defeated the nominee of the ruling Colorado party, Félix Carlos Argaña Contreras (1957–    ), son of the slain vice-president. Franco, a former pediatrician, also had the support of a dissident Colorado faction loyal to Oviedo.

In July 2002, President Gonzalez Macchi declared a state of emergency because of violent street protests in which participants demanded he resign over charges of corruption and mismanagement; later, in December 2002 and again in February 2003 he survived votes in Congress that sought to remove him from office. Running on a platform to crack down on crime and corruption and to create new jobs, Nicanor Duarte Frutos (1956–    ), a former education minister and also from the ruling Colorado party, won the presidential elections of April 2003. He defeated Vice-President Franco, who had resigned (October 2002) in order to run for the presidential office, and several other candidates. He was sworn in as president August 15, the expiring date of the Gonzalez Macchi term. The former president was, however, barred from leaving the country until a judicial investigation into allegations of corruption and mismanagement was completed.

In the first year of his term Duarte Frutos faced an impoverished economy, large foreign debt obligations, worker strikes, and land redistribution demands. In June 2004, apparently with the aim of running for the presidency in 2008, General Oviedo returned from exile in Brazil but was put under arrest in a military prison. More than 420 people were killed and nearly as many injured in an Asuncíon shopping center fire.

For further information on this topic, see the Bibliography, section 1245. Paraguay.