Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay; Guarani: Tetã Paraguái), is a small (well, it used to be larger; keep reading to find out what happened), landlocked country in central South America, and is known for having an incredibly bloody history. Originally inhabited by the semi-nomadic Guarani, the Spanish moved in and colonized the area during the 16th century. Jesuits founded a number of missions in the area, and played a big part in the country's early history. Generally considered a backwater, not much happened until the Spanish were overthrown in 1811.
The first leader of an independent Paraguay was a peculiar fellow named José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia
, though he preferred to be called "El Supremo". Ruling as an absolute dictator, he instituted a number of changes. While brutal, some of these changes actually helped Paraguay later on. For instance, he forbade the remaining Spanish nobles from marrying other Spaniards, forcing them instead to marry Guaranis, allowing Paraguay to avoid some of the racial tensions that troubled its neighbors. Francia also confiscated ecclesiastical money and property, instituted draconian and isolationist economic protectionism, and eventually ordered the extermination of all dogs in Paraguay. Francia is still highly regarded in Paraguay, perhaps because, for all his brutality, he was very honest. Even with absolute power, he was extremely frugal, and the state's coffers doubled during his tenure, not to mention that he was able to preserve Paraguayan stability during the chaos of the early 19th century. Critics would argue (not to his face) that this came at the cost of creating an isolated, paranoid nation that was dependent on an authoritarian strongman.
After Francia’s death, a series of juntas took turns at being in control before power was finally consolidated by a lawyer named Carlos Antonio Lopez, who became the first President of Paraguay in 1841. While Carlos Antonio Lopez was every bit as despotic and authoritarian as Francia, he was much more welcoming of foreigners. He liberalized the economy somewhat, invited a host of top British engineers to build railways, telegraph networks and new buildings, and by all accounts, was a highly competent ruler. According to some sources, crime and poverty were practically nonexistent, thanks to Carlos' authoritarian policies and the natural abundance of resources in Paraguay.
When Carlos died in 1862, the Presidency was passed on to his son, Francisco Solano Lopez. In 1864, Lopez made the fateful decision that Paraguay should get involved in the geopolitics of its neighbors. At the time, Uruguay was undergoing a civil war between its two main political parties, the Colorados (Reds) and the Blancos (Whites). Lopez had allied himself with the ruling Blancos, but this put him and his country at odds with The Empire of Brazil, which was allied with the Colorados. Wishing to maintain Uruguay within its sphere of influence, Brazil decided to intervene militarily in order to depose the Blancos and place the Colorados in charge. In response, Paraguay immediately declared war on Brazil, and Lopez raised an army to oppose Brazil's military intervention. Argentina ended up getting involved when Lopez decided to march his army through Argentinian territory without permission in an attempt to get to Uruguay. This flagrant invasion not only angered the Argentinians enough to declare war, but it also drove them into an alliance with Brazil, thus uniting the two juggernauts of South America against Paraguay. Uruguay would join the alliance as well when the Colorados took power, thanks to the Brazilian military intervention, and the new Uruguayan government declared war. This conflict is commonly known as the War of the Triple Alliance, and was one of the bloodiest wars in South American history. By the end of the war, the three allied nations had invaded Paraguay, destroyed most of its military forces in a series of pitched battles, and occupied the entire country. Despite this, Lopez would continue to lead what little forces he still had in a guerrilla war against the Triple Alliance. It all came to an end when he and his men were finally cornered, and Lopez himself was killed by a Brazilian Corporal named José Francisco Lacerda when he refused to surrender. It is estimated that 90% of Paraguay's male population died over the course of the war. Most while serving in the military, and the rest during the occupation, when Paraguay's major cities and settlements were pillaged by the occupying armies. After the war concluded, Argentina initially proposed that Paraguay be abolished entirely and further suggested that the territory be split between it and Brazil. But despite the potential resources that could be gained, Paraguay was spared this fate, as Brazil preferred that it remain an independent nation in order to act as a buffer state between itself and Argentina.
From there, Paraguay was mostly forgotten by the rest of the world until 1930s, when it fought The Chaco War against Bolivia. As the name suggests, the war was fought over the Gran Chaco, a hot, mosquito-infested piece of land that was almost worthless (except for rumors of oil). Paraguay actually won this fight, with the League of Nations helping to end this war, one of the few things it ever did that might be considered a success.
Starting in 1954, Paraguay was ruled by a military dictator named Alfredo Stroessner in a period known as 'El Stronato.' Cruel, sadistic, and borderline totalitarian, Stroessner could have almost been the axiomatic right-wing Latin American caudillo, ruthlessly culling repression (especially communists) with torture and disappearances, one time happily listening on the phone as the head of the communist party was killed with a chainsaw. On his orders, US aid was used to wage a practically genocidal campaign against the indigenous Paraguayans. This campaign was waged with horrific results, and the families of dissidents were forced to listen to tapes of their loved ones being tortured. Yes, the United States did consider him an ally, and Stroessner was South America's longest-lasting caudillo. Ultimately even the Reagan administration considered him too monstrous , and a US-backed coup finally kicked him out in 1989, with new constitution being written in 1992 that established a democracy.
For the 2008 general elections, voters chose Fernando Lugo, a former Roman Catholic Bishop with no previous professional experience in civil government, ending sixty years of the Colorado Party rule. Though a leftist, Lugo had to make compromises with the right-dominated Senate. He was impeached by Congress in June 2012, following a fatal clash between police and protestors. The impeachment occurred extremely swiftly, leading to some within and without to criticize it heavily. In the 2013 elections, businessman Horacio Cartes was elected as the new president.
The official languages of Paraguay are Spanish and Guarani. The vast majority of the population (over 90%) are bilingual in both languages, but more than half speak Guarani as a mother language.note Paraguay is unique among countries in The Americas for having an indigenous language be spoken more than its colonial one.
Paraguay in fiction:
- JAG: In the last two episodes of season 8 and the first of the 9th season, Mac goes undercover as Clayton Webb's wife on mission in Paraguay where they aim to stop terrorist Sadik Fahd from establishing a base.
- Welsh author Tristan Jones, whose autobiographical books are a tangled mixture of fact and fiction, once visited Paraguay. In one of the more clearly fictional episodes, he is invited to dinner by Alfredo Stroessner in honour of his nautical achievements, and instead of behaving like a polite dinner guest, delivers an epic "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Stroessner and his Nazi henchmen.
- Episode 7 of SEAL Team, "Borderlines" goes to Paraguay in search of a kidnapped CIA operative. The Paraguayan army attempts a rescue but fails miserably, leaving it to DEVGRU to finish the job.
- Splinter Cell: Blacklist has a mission set in Ciudad del Este, involving the infiltration of a Engineer terror broker's private estate and capturing said terror broker, Reza Nouri, then escorting him to a boat in the Rio Parana while Iranian Quds Force commandos raid the estate.
The Paraguayan Flag
The Paraguayan national anthem
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Government
- Unitary presidential republic
- President: Santiago Peña
- Vice President: Pedro Alliana
Miscellaneous
- Capital and largest city: Asunción
- Population: 7,359,000
- Area: 406,796 km (157,065 sq mi) (60th)
- Currency: Paraguayan guaraní (₲) (PYG)
- ISO-3166-1 Code: PY
- Country calling code: 595
- Highest point: Cerro Peró (842 m/2,762 ft) (168th)
- Lowest point: Paraguay River (46 m/151 ft) (46th)
