Native name
Conventional long name	Republic of Paraguay
Common name	Paraguay
Image coat	Coat of arms of Paraguay.svg
National motto	''Paz y justicia''"Peace and justice"
National anthem	''Paraguayos, República o Muerte''"Paraguayans, Republic or Death"
Official languages	Spanish Guaraní
Ethnic groups	74.5% mestizo 20% white 3.5% mulatto 1.5% native
Demonym	Paraguayan
Capital	Asunción
Latns	S
Longew	W
Largest city	Asunción
Government type	Constitutional presidential republic
Leader title1	President
Leader name1	Fernando Lugo
Leader title2	Vice President
Leader name2	Federico Franco
Legislature	Congress
Upper house	Chamber of Senators
Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Area rank	59th
Area magnitude	1 E11
Area km2	406752
Percent water	2.3
Population estimate	6,460,000
Population estimate rank	103rd
Population estimate year	2009
Population density km2	14.2
Population density sq mi	39
Population density rank	204th
Gdp ppp	$33.306 billion
Gdp ppp year	2010
Gdp ppp per capita	$5,202
Gdp nominal year	2010
Gdp nominal	$18.475 billion
Gdp nominal per capita	$2,885
Sovereignty type	Independence
Sovereignty note	from Spain
Established event1	.
Established date1	May 14, 1811
Hdi	0.640
Hdi year	2010
Hdi category	medium
Hdi rank	96th
Gini	50.8
Gini year	2008
Gini category	high
Currency	Guaraní
Currency code	PYG
Country code	PRY
Utc offset	-4
Utc offset dst	-3
Drives on	right
Cctld	.py
Calling code	595 }}

Paraguay (), officially the Republic of Paraguay (, ; Guaraní: ''Tetã Paraguái'' ), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the country from north to south. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as ''Corazón de América'', or the Heart of America.

As of 2009 the population was estimated at 6.3 million. The capital and largest city is Asunción. The official languages are Spanish and Guaraní, both being widely spoken in the country. Most of the population are mestizos.

The Guaraní have been living in Paraguay since prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, when Paraguay became part of the Spanish colonial empire. Paraguay gained independence from Spain in 1811.

Etymology

The official name comes from Guaraní and the literal translation is: Para = of many varieties; Gua = from, belonging to or place; Y = water, river or lake.

There is not a final conclusion of the origin of the name "Paraguay". The most common interpretations along the nation's history suggest:

# "River which originates a sea" (there's a similar term for Uruguay). # The Spanish military and scientist Félix de Azara contains 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 historian French-Argentine, the 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."

Geography

Paraguay is divided by the Río 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.

Climate

The local climate ranges from subtropical to temperate, with substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, though becoming semi-arid in the far west.

History

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. They became independent from Spain, but the relation with Buenos Aires was limited to a non-aggression pact; Paraguayan independence from Argentina was declared in 1842.

Paraguay fought the War of the Triple Alliance 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 221,000 survived the war, of whom only 28,000 were adult males." 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. During the pillaging of Asunción (''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, 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.

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. 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.

Government and politics

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 both 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.

Political history

Paraguay gained its independence from Spain in 1811, and its first president was José Gaspar Rodríguez 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, forbid colonial citizens from marrying each other, having only be 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'état 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 led to the Paraguayan civil war of 1947. 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.

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.

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.

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 (''mítines 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.

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.

On February 3, 1989, Stroessner was overthrown in a military coup headed by General Andrés Rodríguez. As president, Rodríguez 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.

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 María Argaña on March 23, 1999, led the Chamber of Deputies to impeach Cubas the next day. 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. 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 as the Paraguayan Congress continues to be dominated by right-wing elected officials.

Administrative subdivisions

Paraguay consists of seventeen departments and one capital district (''distrito capital''). These are, with their capitals indicated: {| style="background:none;" |- | style="width:34%;"| {| style="background:none;" ! !!style="text-align:left;"| Department !!style="text-align:left;"| Capital | 1 || Alto Paraguay || | 2 || Alto Paraná || | 3 || Amambay || | 4 || ''Distrito Capital'' || | 5 || Boquerón || | 6 || Caaguazú || | 7 || Caazapá || | 8 || Canindeyú || | 9 || Central || |} | style="width:34%;"| {| style="background:transparen;" ! !!style="text-align:left;"| Department !!style="text-align:left;"| Capital | 10 || Concepción || | 11 || Cordillera || | 12 || Guairá || | 13 || Itapúa || | 14 || Misiones || | 15 || Ñeembucú || | 16 || Paraguarí || | 17 || Presidente Hayes || | 18 || San Pedro || |} | style="width:220px; align:center; vertical-align:middle;"| |}

The departments are further divided into districts (''distritos'').

Demographics

There is no official data on the ethnic composition of the Paraguayan population, because the Department of Statistics, Surveys and Censuses of Paraguay does not include the concepts of ''race'' and ''ethnicity'' in census surveys, 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.

Traditionally, the Paraguayan population is considered mixed (''mestizo'' in Spanish), because of the widespread offspring of Guaraní women and Spanish settlers during Spain's domination of the country.

The Ministry of Education and Culture of Paraguay refers thus to the population of the country: ''"The dominant ancestry is European, which represents a large proportion of the population, mostly descendants of Spanish, Germans, Italians (who have contributed to repopulate the country after the War of the Triple Alliance) but also a large number of people of German descent, because the German Mennonites (mostly in the western part of the territory). There are 17 Mennonite colonies, mostly in the Paraguayan Chaco. It is one of South American countries with less indigenous trait (because the traditional Paraguayan population – Guaraní-Spanish mix – had been destroyed by the Allies in 1870, for which it had to repopulate the country by resorting to the Italian immigration)."''

Scientific publication ''Composición Étnica de las Tres Áreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI'' (Ethnic Composition of the Three Cultural Zones of the Americas at the Beginning of XXI century) of ''Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México'' (Center for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities of the Mexico State Autonomous University) suggests the following ethnic composition:

Mestizos: 74.5%

White: 20%

Mulatos: 3.5%

Indigenous: 1.5%

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" 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 Guaraní culture that has endured in Paraguay is the Guaraní language, generally understoood by about 90% of the population. However, nearly all Paraguayans speak Spanish. Spanish and Guaraní are official languages. 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. Many of the Brazilians are descendants of the German, Italian and Polish immigrants. There are also an estimated 63,000 Afro-Paraguayans, or 1% of the population. Some 25,000 German-speaking Mennonites live in the Paraguayan Chaco.

Paraguay has one of the more important and representative German communities in South America. German settlers founded several towns as Hohenau, Filadelfia, Neuland, Obligado, Nueva Germania, etc. Some specialized German sites that promote German immigration to Paraguay refers to 5%-7% of German descent Paraguayan population and 150.000 German-Brazilian descent population

Paraguay's population is distributed unevenly through the country. About 56% of Paraguayans live in urban areas. The vast majority of the people live in the eastern region near the capital and largest city, Asunción, accounting for 10% of the country's population. The Gran Chaco region, which includes the Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Presidente Hayes Department, and accounts for about 60% of the territory, is home to less than 2% of the population.

Largest cities

Religion

According to the 2002 census, 89.6% of the population is Roman Catholic, 6.2% is evangelical Christian, 1.1% is other Christian, 0.6% practice indigenous religions.

A U.S. State Department report on Religious Freedom names Roman Catholicism, evangelical Christianity, mainline Protestantism, Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform), Mormonism, and the Baha'i Faith as prominent religious groups and also mentions a large Muslim community in Alto Paraná as a result of Middle-Eastern immigration, especially from Lebanon, and also the Mennonite community in Boquerón.

Social issues

Various poverty estimates suggest that 30-50% of the population is poor. In rural areas, 41.20% of the people lack a monthly income to cover basic necessities, whereas in urban centers this figure is 27.6%. The top 10% of the population holds 43.8% of the national income, while the lowest 10% has 0.5%. The economic recession has worsened income inequality, notably in the rural areas, where the Gini coefficient has risen from 0.56 in 1995 to 0.66 in 1999.

More recent data (2009) show that 35% of the Paraguayan population is poor, 19% of which live in extreme poverty. Moreover, 71% of the later live in rural areas of the country.

Similarly, land concentration in the Paraguayan countryside is one of the highest in the globe: 10% of the population controls 66% of the land, while 30% of the rural people are landless. This inequality has caused a great deal of tensions between the landless and land owners.

Economy

Landlocked Paraguay has a market economy distinguished by a large informal sector, featuring re-export of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries, as well as the activities of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. Between 1970 and 2009 the country had the highest economic growth of South America, with an average rate of 7.2% per year and the prospect of 9% annual growth from 2010, being the highest in South America. The country also boasts the third most important free commercial zone in the world: Ciudad del Este, trailing behind Miami and Hong Kong. A large percentage of the population, especially in rural areas, derives its living from agricultural activity, often on a subsistence basis. Because of the importance of the informal sector, accurate economic measures are difficult to obtain. On a per capita basis, real income has stagnated at 1980 levels. The economy grew rapidly between 2003 and 2008 as growing world demand for commodities combined with high prices and favorable weather to support Paraguay's commodity-based export expansion. Paraguay is the sixth largest soy producer in the world. Drought hit in 2008, reducing agricultural exports and slowing the economy even before the onset of the global recession.

As of 2010, Paraguay is experiencing the greatest economical expansion of the zone and the highest of South America, with a GDP growth rate of 14.5% for by the end of the year.

Industry and manufacturing

The industrial sector produces about 25% of Paraguay's gross domestic product (GDP) and employs about 31% of the labor force. Output grew by 2.9% in 2004, after five years of declining production. Traditionally an agricultural economy, Paraguay is showing some signs of long-term industrial growth.

The pharmaceutical industry is quickly supplanting foreign suppliers in meeting the country's drug needs. Paraguayan companies now meet 70% of domestic consumption and have begun to export drugs. Strong growth also is evident in the production of edible oils, garments, organic sugar, meat processing, and steel.

Nevertheless, capital for further investment in the industrial sector of the economy is scarce. Following the revelation of widespread financial corruption in the 1990s, the government is still working to improve credit options for Paraguayan businesses. In 2003, manufacturing made up 13.6% of the GDP, and the sector employed about 11% of the working population in 2000. Paraguay's primary manufacturing focus is on food and beverages. Wood products, paper products, hides and furs, and non-metallic mineral products also contribute to manufacturing totals. Steady growth in the manufacturing GDP during the 1990s (1.2% annually) laid the foundation for 2002 and 2003, when the annual growth rate rose to 2.5%.

Education

Literacy was about 93.6% and 87.7% of Paraguayans finish the 5th grade according to UNESCO's last Educational Development Index 2008. Literacy does not differ much by gender. A more recent study reveals that the assistance to primary school of children between 6 and 12 years old is about 98%. Primary education is free, mandatory and takes nine years. Secondary education takes three years. Paraguay has several universities. The National University of Asunción was founded in 1889, and the Universidad Americana. Also, the Universidad catolica, run by the church. The net primary enrollment rate was at 88% in 2005. Public expenditure on education was about 4.3 % of GDP in the early 2000s.

Health

LIfe expectancy at birth was 75 years in 2006, and the 8th best position in America's ranking according to World Health Organization. It is the same level of Argentina. Public expenditure on health is 2.6 % of GDP and private expenditure on health 5.1 %. Infant mortality was 20 per 1,000 births in 2005. Maternal mortality was 150 per 100,000 live births in 2000. The World Bank has helped the Paraguayan government reduce Paraguay's maternal and infant mortality. The ''Mother and Child Basic Health Insurance Project'' aimed to contribute to reducing mortality by increasing the use of selected life-saving services included in the country's Mother and Child Basic Health Insurance Program (MCBI) by women of child-bearing age, and children under age six in selected areas. To this end, the project also targeted improving the quality and efficiency of the health service network within certain areas, in addition to increasing the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare's (MSPBS) management.

Sports

Sport in Paraguay

Culture

See also

International rankings of Paraguay

List of Paraguayans

South America Life Quality Rankings

References

Further reading

Abdou, Selim ''The Jesuit Republic of the Guaranis 1609–1768'', 1997

Aren, Richard ''Genocide in Paraguay'', 1976

Attenborough, David ''Zoo Quest in Paraguay'', 1950

Barret, William E. ''Woman on Horseback: the Biography of Francisco Lopez and Eliza Lynch'', 1938

Boschmann, Erwin ''Paraguay - A Tour Guide'', 2009

Brodksy, Alvin ''Madame Lynch and Friend'', 2005

Cunninghame-Graham, Robert Bontine ''A Vanished Arcadia: Being Some Account of the Jesuits in Paraguay, 1607 to 1767''

Durrell, Gerald ''The Drunken Forest'', 1956

English, Adrian J. ''The Green Hell: A Concise History of the Chaco War Between Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932-35'', 2007

Gimlette, John ''At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels Through Paraguay'', 2003

Hebblethwaite, Margaret ''Bradt Travel Guide: Paraguay'', 2010

Jaenike, William F. ''Black Robes in Paraguay: The Success of the Guarani Missions Hastened the Abolition of the Jesuits'', 2008

Kerr, John ''A Naturalist in the Chaco'', 1950

Lambert, Peter & Nickson, Andrew ''The Transition to Democracy in Paraguay'', 1997

Lewis, Paul ''Paraguay Under Stoessner'', 1980

Ligon, Ethan; Schechter, Laura, "The Value of Social Networks in rural Paraguay", University of California, Berkeley, Seminar, March 25, 2009, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, College of Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley

Macintyre, Ben ''Forgotten Fatherland: The Search for Elizabeth Nietzsche'', 1993

Meyer, Gordon ''The River and the People'', 1965

Mora, Frank O. and Cooney, Jerry W. ''Paraguay anhd the United States'', 2007

Nickson, Andrew ''Historical Dictionary of Paraguay'', 1993

Nickson, Andrew ''Paraguay: An Annotated Bibliography'', 1999

O'Shaughnessy, Hugh ''The Priest of Paraguay: Fernando Lugo and the Making of a Nation'', 2009

Rees, Sián ''The Shadow of Elisa Lynch'', 2003

Saeger, James S. ''Francisco Solano L-pez and the Ruination of Paraguay: Honor and Egocentrism'', 2007

Souter, Gavin ''A Peculiar People: the Australians in Paraguay'', 1968

Stoesz, Edward ''Like a Mustard Seed: Mennonites in Paraguay'', 2008

Whitehead, Anne ''Paradise Mislaid: In Search of the Australian Tribe of Paraguay'', 1997

Spencer, Jack ''Mounting the Bull'', 2010

Paraguay in fiction (a brief chronological list)

Voltaire, ''Candide, ou l'optimisme'' (1759)

Robert Southey, ''A Tale of Paraguay'' [poem] (1825)

Joseph Conrad, ''Nostromo'' [not explicitly set in Paraguay, but the country was an important source for Conrad's composite Latin American country] (1904)

Gabriel Casaccia (the pen name of Benigno Casaccia Bibolini), ''Hombres, mujeres y fantoches'' (1930)

Graham Greene, ''Travels With My Aunt'' (1969)

Graham Greene, ''The Honorary Consul'' (1973)

Augusto Roa Bastos, ''Yo, el Supremo (I, the Supreme)'' [about José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, dictator of Paraguay, 1814–1840] (1974)

Anne Enright, ''The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch'' [about the Irish-born mistress of President Francisco Solano López] (2002)

Lily Tuck, ''The News from Paraguay'' (2005)

Ron Terpening, ''Tropic of Fear'' (2006)

External links

; Government

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

National Department of Tourism Ministry of Finance with economic and Government information, available also in English

Paraguay Photos

; General information

"Paraguay" from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''

Paraguay at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''

; News media [http://www.larueda.com.py/ La Rueda - Weekly reviews] ABC Color Última Hora La Nación Paraguay.com Ñanduti

; Travel

Guia Tour Paraguay

Paraguay Convention & Visitor's Bureau

Paraguay.com: Tradition, Culture, Maps, Tourism

Tourism in Paraguay, information, pictures and more. Turismo.com.py

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Playername	Salvador Cabañas
Fullname	Salvador Cabañas Ortega
Dateofbirth	August 05, 1980
Cityofbirth	Asunción
Countryofbirth	Paraguay
Height
Position	StrikerWinger
Years1	1998–2001
Clubs1	12 de Octubre
Caps1	28
Goals1	14
Years2	1999
Clubs2	→ Guaraní (loan)
Caps2	20
Goals2	6
Years3	2001–2003
Clubs3	Audax Italiano
Caps3	53
Goals3	29
Years4	2003–2006
Clubs4	Jaguares de Chiapas
Caps4	103
Goals4	59
Years5	2006–2010
Clubs5	América
Caps5	115
Goals5	66
Years6	2011
Nationalyears1	2004–2009
Nationalteam1	Paraguay
Nationalcaps1	44
Nationalgoals1	10
Pcupdate	January 25, 2010
Ntupdate	October 14, 2009 }}

Salvador Cabañas Ortega (born August 5, 1980) is a Paraguayan football striker who played for Club América in the Mexican Primera División. A prolific and natural goalscorer, he is known for his array of skills on the field such as excellent heading, accurate shooting with either foot, receptions in tight spaces, and a combination of technique, power and positional sense. He was shot in the head in January 2010, but survived the attack. Sixteen months after the assault he returned to football and participated in a tribute match for him between Paraguay's national team and Club America. Some doctors said that Salvador's survival is a miracle.

Career

Early years

Cabañas started his career at Paraguayan club 12 de Octubre, where he was promoted to the first division by then coach Alicio Solalinde, scoring a hugely impressive 17 goals in his first season. He moved to a different team, Guaraní, where he had a brief stint before moving to Audax Italiano of Chile. In the 2003 Apertura tournament of the Chilean Primera División Cabañas netted an impressive 18 goals and was the top goalscorer.

Years in Mexico

Afterwards, he joined Jaguares of Mexico from Audax Italiano before the Mexican 2003 Apertura tournament. That season, Cabañas went on to play in 18 games for the team, scoring five goals. He came into his own in the 2004 Clausura however, as he scored 15 goals in 20 games for the club. He would lead the club in goals again in the 2004 Apertura, with eight in 16 matches.

Following the Clausura 2006 season in which Cabañas won his first goalscoring crown in the Mexican League, he attracted the attention of Club América, one of the most important clubs in the country, and was signed by the Mexico City squad prior to the Apertura 2006 season.

Cabañas became América's most prolific goalscorer for 2007, finishing up the first half of the year with an impressive 19 goals between 2007 Copa Libertadores (in which he became the top-scorer with 10 goals) and the Primera División de México. He started the second half of the year with a single goal in the North American SuperLiga, then scored 4 more goals in the 2007 Copa Sudamericana, and has scored 9 more in the Primera División de México, bringing his year's total with the club to 33 goals. His top form in 2007 earned him the Paraguayan Footballer of the Year and South American Footballer of the Year awards.

For 2008, Cabañas has started where he left off in 2007. He has scored 3 goals in the 2008 InterLiga, scored 8 in the 2008 Copa Libertadores (in which, for a consecutive second time, he became the top-scorer), and has scored 6 more goals in the Primera División de México. He started the second half of the year with 6 goals in the Primera División de México, bringing his year's total to 23 goals with the club.

Cabanas started 2009 by scoring his first goal in the 2009 InterLiga and scoring 13 more goals in the Primera División de México. He then finished the second half of the year with 12 goals in the Primera División de México. Taking his tally to 26 goals for the year. On January 18, against Santos Laguna, he scored two goals, taking his personal tally to 100 goals in the Primera División de México.

In 2010, Cabañas again started the year scoring goals in the 2010 InterLiga, scoring four. In the two games he played in the 2010 Bicentenario, he scored two goals. His last game before being assaulted was on January 24, 2010 in a 2-0 loss against Morelia.

Assault

Cabañas was shot in the head inside the "Bar Bar" night club in Mexico City early January 25, 2010 at 5:00 in the morning. Cabañas received medical attention during the early hours of January 25, 2010. Later on the day he was submitted to a craniotomy but doctors decided that it was too risky to proceed and the bullet was not extracted. According to his wife, he tried to react against a robbery, although this account is disputed by reports that the assault was the result of a taunting incident in the bar's bathroom. Mexican police confirmed that drug lord José Balderas Garza, alias JJ, was the man who shot him.

Cabañas left intensive care in late February and was hoping to fully recover in time for the FIFA World Cup 2010 but was not selected for the final Paraguay squad. Doctors dealing with Cabañas have described his recovery so far as "tremendous". However, it is announced he does have short-term memory loss and may not recover for another one to three years. It is unknown if he will return to play because of the bullet that is still lodged in his brain. He gave his first interview on March 12, 2010 in appreciation to all the people who prayed for him.

In June 2010 Cabañas's international team-mate Nelson Haedo Valdez stated in an interview with FourFourTwo.com that while Cabañas was in the bar he was stopping himself from getting robbed before he was shot.

Honors

Individual honors

Top-scorer in the Chilean football league, Apertura 2003 with Audax Italiano Top-scorer in the Primera División de México, Clausura 2006 with Chiapas Top-scorer in the Copa Libertadores 2007, with Club America

Paraguayan Footballer of the Year in 2007

South American Footballer of the Year in 2007

Top-scorer in the Copa Libertadores 2008, with Club America Winner of the "Balón de Oro" as the best striker in the Clausura 2008 tournament Joint top-scorer in the 2010 InterLiga, with Club America

Other honors

Salvador finished 2007 with the second most goals in the world. Chosen for the "Ideal Eleven" of South America in 2007 Salvador is the all-time top scorer of all Mexican teams in their history in the Copa Libertadores.

International goals

|- | 1. || March 27, 2005 || Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador || || 2–0 || 2–5 || 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |- | 2. || June 28, 2007 || Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela || || 4–0 || 5–0 || 2007 Copa América |- | 3. || June 28, 2007 || Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela || || 5–0 || 5–0 || 2007 Copa América |- | 4. || July 2, 2007 || Estadio Agustín Tovar, Barinas, Venezuela || || 3–1 || 3–1 || 2007 Copa América |- | 5. || November 21, 2007 || Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago, Chile || || 1–0 || 3–0 || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |- | 6. || June 15, 2008 || Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay || || 2–0 || 2–0 || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |- | 7. || October 11, 2008 || Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia || || 1–0 || 1–0 || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |- | 8. || June 10, 2009 || Estádio do Arruda, Recife, Brazil || || 1–0 || 1–2 || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |- | 9. || September 5, 2009 || Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay || || 1–0 || 1–0 || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |- | 10. || October 10, 2009 || Puerto Ordaz, Polideportivo Cachamay, Venezuela || || 1–0 || 2–1 || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |}

References

External links

Official Site

FootballDatabase provides Salvador Cabañas's profile and stats

Salvador Cabañas at Mediotiempo.com

Salvador Cabañas tactical profile at Football-Lineups.com

Category:Paraguayan footballers Category:1980 births Category:People from Asunción Category:Living people Category:Club Guaraní footballers Category:Club América footballers Category:Jaguares de Chiapas footballers Category:Audax Italiano players Category:Association football forwards Category:Paraguay international footballers Category:Primera División de México players Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:Expatriate footballers in Chile Category:Expatriate footballers in Mexico Category:South American Footballer of the Year winners Category:Shooting survivors

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