Campesino Participation in Rural Paraguay: Practical and Theoretical Challenges

In 1997, the community of Guayaki-Cua, Paraguay underwent a dramatic political and social transformation allowing campesinos to take a more active role in decisionmaking processes. This change established safety and security for local residents, and brought about the involvement of the Paraguayan government, nongovernmental organizations and residents to begin development work in the form of infrastructure projects. The end of the Stroessner dictatorship in 1989 signaled the end of autocratic rule and ushered in the neoliberal perspective advocating private property, free trade, and other measures to bring about the democratization of Latin America economies to foster growth and participation. In the late 1990s after a series of economic crashes in Brazil and Argentina the neoliberal model of development lost support from local communities. Rural communities such as Guayaki-Cua began confronting the established U.S. supported Colorado party system that changed its tactics after the dictatorship and favored neoliberal development. GuayakiCua is a community in transition where campesinos are making efforts to take part in a true grassroots democratic process, which favors just development while dealing with Colorado rule and neoliberal promotion as campesinos make strides towards increasing participation through grassroots methods.

Name thesis:degree_name

Latin American Studies

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Latin American Studies

Year

2009

Author dc:creator

• Garcia, Joseph J

Contributors dc:contributor

• Claudia, B. Isaac
• Valdes, Nelson
• Henkel, David

• Paraguay
• Social movements
• Development
• Neo-Liberalism
• Indigenous
• Rural
• Foreign policy

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ltam_etds/14

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalrepository.unm.edu:ltam_etds-1013