Paraguay Rural Labor
National headquarters of the colorado Party, Asunción
Courtesy Richard S. Sacks
For most of the Stronato, the government could rely on a
supportive peasantry. Linked through the local committees of the
Colorado Party, many peasants participated in the land colonization
programs of the eastern border region that were sponsored by the
government's IBR. Others bypassed the IBR altogether and
participated independently in the settlement of the area
(see Land Reform and Land Policy
, ch. 3). In any event, the availability of
land served to alleviate somewhat the frustration of peasants who
were in a poor economic situation.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, a number of factors contributed to
a dramatic reduction of land in the eastern border region. First,
an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 Brazilians crossed into Paraguay in
search of cheap land
(see Immigrants
, ch. 2). Second, many
squatters were forced off their lands by new agribusinesses that
were much more efficient than the previous operators of estates. In
addition, the completion of the Itaipú hydroelectric project
resulted in high unemployment of construction workers, many of whom
were former peasants. As a result, an estimated 200,000 families
lacked title to their land or had no land at all.
In about 1980, landless peasants began to occupy land illegally.
Although some settlements were smashed by the government, others
eventually received formal recognition by the IBR. A number of
rural organizations also sprang up after 1980 to promote the
interests of peasants. Although one of these organizations--the
Coordinating Committees of Agricultural Producers (Comités de
Coordinación de Productores Agricolas)--was sponsored by the
government, its leaders sometimes assumed positions not in line
with official policy. Associations of peasants sponsored by the
Roman Catholic Church were formed to establish cooperatives and
commercialize crop production. A variety of rural organizations
loosely grouped themselves into the Paraguayan Peasant Movement
(Movimiento Campesino Paraguayo--MCP) in 1980. The MCP included
associations of peasants and landless workers as well as the
Permanent Commission of Relatives of the Disappeared and Murdered,
which dealt with victims of repression in the rural areas.
Although small, the MCP was quite successful in mobilizing the
rural poor. For example, in July 1985, it brought together more
than 5,000 landless peasants in Caaguazú, where they established
the Permanent Assembly of Landless Peasants (Asamblea Permanente de
Campesinos sin Tierra--APCT). Despite government harassment, the
APCT claimed to be the nation's largest independent mass
organization with a membership of 10,000 families. Its objectives
were spelled out in a thirteen-point program advocating a radical
transformation of society.
Data as of December 1988
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