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| Etymology | |
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The official name comes from Guaranà and the literal translation is: Para = of many varieties; Gua = from, belonging to or place river or lake.
The origin of the name "Paraguay" has not been resolved. Common suggestions include:
"River which originates a sea"
The Spanish officer and scientist Félix de Azara suggests two versions: "water from Payaguas" (Payaguá-and Payagua-i), referring to natural Payaguas living on the coasts of the river, and the other was due to name a great chief called "Paraguaio".
The French-Argentine historian and writer Paul Groussac argued that it meant "river that flows through the sea (Pantanal)".
The ex-president and Paraguayan politician, Juan Natalicio Gonzalez said it meant "river of the habitants of the sea".
Fray Antonio Ruiz de Montoya said that it meant "river crowned".
[edit] Tags:Spanish,GuaranÃ,Félix De Azara,Juan Natalicio Gonzalez,Fray,Antonio Ruiz De Montoya, | |
| Geography | |
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Main article: Geography of Paraguay
Paraguay is divided by the RÃo Paraguay into the eastern region, called Eastern Paraguay (Paraguay Oriental) and known as the Paraná region; and the western region, officially called Western Paraguay (Paraguay Occidental) and also known as the Chaco. The country lies between latitudes 19° and 28°S, and longitudes 54° and 63°W. The terrain consists of grassy plains and wooded hills in the east. To the west, there are mostly low, marshy plains.
[edit] Tags:Chaco,19°,28°s,54°,63°w, | |
| Climate | |
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Main article: Climate of Paraguay
The local climate ranges from subtropical to temperate, with substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, though becoming semi-arid in the far west.
[edit] Tags:Climate,Subtropical,Temperate, | |
| History | |
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Main article: History of Paraguay
Francisco Solano López
Pre-Columbian society in the wooded, fertile region which is now present-day Paraguay consisted of seminomadic tribes, who were recognized for their fierce warrior traditions. These indigenous tribes were members of five distinct language families, and 17 separate ethnolinguistic groups still remain today.
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 de Espinosa. 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. Jesuit Reductions were founded and flourished in eastern Paraguay for about 150 years until the expulsion of the Jesuits by the Spanish crown in 1767. Paraguay overthrew the local Spanish administration on May 15, 1811. Paraguay's first ruler was the dictator Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia. He ruled Paraguay from 1814 until his death in 1840 with very little outside contact and influence, creating a utopian society based on Rousseau's Social Contract.[8] After his death, Paraguay went through the very brief ownership of various military officers under a new junta, until the secretary Carlos Antonio Lopez, Francia's nephew, declared himself dictator. Lopez modernized Paraguay, and opened it up to foreign commerce. The relation with Buenos Aires was limited to a non-aggression pact; Paraguayan independence from Argentina was declared in 1842. After Lopez's death, power was transferred to his eldest son, Francisco Solano Lopez in 1862. Lopez's expansionist aims lead to the War of the Triple Alliance in 1864. Paraguay fought against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and was defeated in 1870 after five years of the bloodiest war in South America. According to William D. Rubinstein, "The normal estimate is that of a Paraguayan population of somewhere between 450,000 and 900,000, only 220,000 survived the war, of whom only 28,000 were adult males."[9] Paraguay also 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, but forfeited additional territorial gains as a price of peace.
The official narrative of Paraguay's history is fraught with disputes among historians, educators and politicians. The "authentic" version of historical events, wars in particular, varies depending on whether it was written in Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Europe, or North America.
Both the Colorado Party and Liberal Party maintain distinct official versions of Paraguayan history[citation needed]. During the pillaging of Asuncion (Saqueo de Asunción) in 1869, the Brazilian Imperial Army ransacked and relocated the Paraguayan National Archives to Rio de Janeiro where they have been kept in secrecy,[10] making Colonial and early National Period Paraguayan history difficult to study.
Between 1904 and 1954, Paraguay had thirty-one presidents, most of whom were removed from office by force.[11]
From 1954 to 1989, the country was ruled by Alfredo Stroessner and the Colorado party. The dictator oversaw an era of economic expansion, but at the cost of a poor human rights and environmental record (see "Political History"). Torture and death for political opponents was routine.[12] After his overthrow, the Colorado continued to dominate national politics until 2008.
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% of the vote compared to almost 31% for Blanca Ovelar of the Colorado party.[13]
[edit] Tags:Presidential,Independence,South America,Argentina,Brazil,1811,Asunción,Ethnolinguistic,Europeans,Juan De Salazar De Espinosa,Spanish Colonial Province,Jesuit,Rousseau's,Junta,Francisco Solano Lopez,Uruguay,Alfredo Stroessner,Blanca Ovelar,Jose Gaspar Rodriguez De Francia,Dictator,Fernando Lugo, | |
| Government and politics | |
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Main articles: Politics of Paraguay and Human rights in Paraguay
Main article: Foreign relations of Paraguay
Paraguay is a representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system and separation of powers in three branches. Executive power is exercised solely by the President, who is head of state and head of government. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the National Congress. The Judiciary is vested on Tribunals and Courts of Civil Law and a nine-member Supreme Court of Justice, all of them independent of the executive and the legislature.
[edit] Tags:Representative Democratic,Republic,Multi-party System,Separation Of Powers,Executive Power,Head Of State,Head Of Government,Legislative Power,Judiciary,Tribunals,Civil Law, | |
| Pre-1980 | |
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Paraguay gained its independence from Spain in 1811, and its first president was Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, who was originally appointed with Fulgencio Yegros as alternative consul, but in 1814, de Francia was appointed president. He established new laws that more-or-less completely removed the powers of the church and the cabinet, forbade colonial citizens from marrying each other, only being allowed to marry blacks, mulattoes or natives, and cut off Paraguay from the rest of South America. Because of his abolition of freedom and gain to complete power, Yegros and several other ex-politicians attempted to host a coup-d'etat against him, which failed and they were imprisoned for life.
After World War II, politics became particularly unstable with several political parties fighting for power in the late 1940s, which most notably brought up the Paraguayan civil war of 1947.[14] A series of unstable governments ensued until the establishment in 1954 of the stable regime of dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who remained in office for more than three decades. Paraguay modernized to some extent under Stroessner's regime, though his rule was marked by extensive abuses.[15] From 1954 to 1989, the country was ruled by Alfredo Stroessner and the Colorado party.
[edit] Tags:Spain, | |
| Post-1979 | |
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The splits in the 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.[citation needed]
PLRA leader Domingo Laino served as the focal point of the opposition in the second half of the 1980s. The government's effort to isolate Laino by exiling him in 1982 had backfired. On his sixth attempt, in 1986, Laino 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 Laino's return.[citation needed]
However, the Stroessner regime relented in April 1987 and permitted Laino to arrive in Asunción. Laino 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 (mÃtines relámpagos), especially in rural areas. Such demonstrations were held and disbanded quickly before the arrival of the police.
In response to 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 PLRA, 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. Laino and several other opposition figures were arrested before dawn on the day of the election, February 14, and held for twelve hours. The government declared Stroessner's re-election with 89% of the vote.[16]
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.[citation needed]
On February 3, 1989, Stroessner was overthrown in a military coup headed by General Andrés RodrÃguez. As president, RodrÃguez 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.
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 General Lino Oviedo to oust President Wasmosy, taking an important step to strengthen democracy.[citation needed]
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 former running mate, Raúl Cubas, became the Colorado Party's candidate and was elected in May in elections deemed by international observers to be free and fair. One of Cubas' first acts after taking office in August was to commute Oviedo's sentence and release him from confinement. In December 1998, Paraguay's Supreme Court declared these actions unconstitutional. In this tense atmosphere, the murder of Vice President and long-time Oviedo rival Luis MarÃa Argaña on March 23, 1999, led the Chamber of Deputies to impeach Cubas the next day.[citation needed] The March 26 murder of eight student antigovernment demonstrators, widely believed to have been carried out by Oviedo supporters, made it clear that the Senate would vote to remove Cubas on March 29, and Cubas resigned on March 28.[citation needed] Senate President Luis González Macchi, a Cubas opponent, was peacefully sworn in as president the same day.
In 2003, Nicanor Duarte Frutos was elected and sworn in as president.
For the 2008 general elections, the Colorado Party was once again a favorite. However, this time their candidate was not an internal opponent to the President and self-proclaimed reformer, as in the two previous elections, but Minister of Education Blanca Ovelar, the first woman to appear as a candidate for a major party in Paraguayan history. But after sixty years of rule by the Colorados voters chose a non-politician, former Roman Catholic Bishop Fernando Lugo. Although he was a long time follower of the controversial liberation theology he was backed by the center-right Liberal Party, the Colorados' traditional opponents.
Outgoing President Nicanor Duarte Frutos hailed the moment as the first time in the history of this nation that a government had handed power to opposition forces in an orderly and peaceful fashion.
Lugo was sworn in on August 15, 2008 but unlike other South American countries such as Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, Lugo's leftist agenda remains largely unimplemented[citation needed] as the Paraguayan Congress continues to be dominated by right-wing elected officials.[citation needed]
Political instability in the past year, fueled by disputes within Fernando Lugo's cabinet, has led the right wing Colorado Party to regain popularity. Reports suggest that the businessman Horacio Cartes is the new political figure amid disputes. Despite the DEA's strong accusations against Cartes involving him in drug trafficking he continues to amass followers in the political arena.
On January 14, 2011 the Colorado Party convention enabled Horacio Cartes to run as the presidential candidate for the party even though, as reports suggest, the party's constitution didn't allow it.
[edit] Tags:Constitutional, | |
| Administrative subdivisions | |
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Main articles: Departments of Paraguay and Districts of Paraguay
Paraguay consists of seventeen departments and one capital district (distrito capital). These are, with their capitals indicated:
Alto Paraguay
Boquerón
Presidente Hayes
Amambay
Concepción
San Pedro
Distrito Capital
Guairá
Caazapá
Alto
Paraná
Caaguazú
Canindeyú
Itapúa
ParaguarÃ
Misiones
Ñeembucú
Cordillera
Central
Brazil
Bolivia
Argentina
Department
Capital
1
Alto Paraguay
Fuerte Olimpo
2
Alto Paraná
Ciudad del Este
3
Amambay
Pedro Juan Caballero
4
Distrito Capital
Asunción
5
Boquerón
Filadelfia
6
Caaguazú
Coronel Oviedo
7
Caazapá
Caazapá
8
Canindeyú
Salto del Guairá
9
Central
Areguá
Department
Capital
10
Concepción
Concepción
11
Cordillera
Caacupé
12
Guairá
Villarrica
13
Itapúa
Encarnación
14
Misiones
San Juan Bautista
15
Ñeembucú
Pilar
16
ParaguarÃ
ParaguarÃ
17
Presidente Hayes
Villa Hayes
18
San Pedro
San Pedro
The departments are further divided into districts (distritos).
[edit] Tags: | |
| Demographics | |
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Main articles: Demographics of Paraguay and Languages of Paraguay
See also: List of most common surnames in Paraguay
Paraguay population density (people per km2)
National Routes
There is no official data on the ethnic composition of the Paraguayan population, because the Department of Statistics, Surveys and Censuses[17] of Paraguay does not include the concepts of race and ethnicity in census surveys,[18] although it does inquire about the indigenous population. According to the census of 2002, the indigenous population was 1.7% of Paraguay's total population.[19]
Traditionally, the Paraguayan population is considered mixed (mestizo in Spanish), because of the widespread offspring of Guaranà women and Spanish settlers during Spain's domination of the country.[20]
According to the CIA World Factbook, Paraguay has a population of 6,669,086, 95% of which are mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian) and 5% are labelled as "other" [21] and are members of indigenous tribal groups. They are divided into 17 distinct ethnolinguistic groupings, many of which are poorly documented.
One remarkable trace of the indigenous Guaranà culture that has endured in Paraguay is the Guaranà language, generally understoood by about 90% of the population. However, nearly all Paraguayans speak Spanish. Spanish and Guaranà are official languages.[22] Small groups of ethnic Italians, Germans, Russians, Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, Arabs, Ukrainians, Brazilians, and Argentines settled in Paraguay, and they have to an extent retained their respective languages and culture, particularly the Brazilians who represent the largest number. An estimated 400,000 Brazilians live in Paraguay.[23] Many of the Brazilians are descendants of the German, Italian and Polish immigrants.[24] There are also an estimated 63,000 Afro-Paraguayans, or 1% of the population.[25] Some 25,000 German-speaking Mennonites live in the Paraguayan Chaco.[26]
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