Paraguay has been called the least-known country in Latin America, an island surrounded by land, and the “South American Tibet.” For many years, foreign writers and journalists described it as an enigmatic land where a peculiar people endured calamities and Nazis sought refuge. Tomás Mandl spent 2016 to 2020 traveling through the country, meeting leading minds and sifting through data. Drawing on more than 40 interviews with historians, political scientists, economists, journalists and diplomats, this book provides a timely assessment of Paraguay’s strengths, challenges and developmental outlook, and their implications for the world.

Tomás Mandl was born in Virginia and raised in Uruguay. Currently a program officer with the Center for International Private Enterprise, he previously worked for the Department of State as a political specialist in Ecuador, Vietnam, and Paraguay. His articles in English and Spanish have appeared in World Politics Review and Revista Perspectiva, among others. He lives in Falls Church, Virginia.

Tomás Mandl

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 255
Bibliographic Info: 36 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2021
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8468-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4289-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments  viii
Time Line  xi
Introduction  1
I—The Echoes of Paraguay’s History  9
II—Politics: The Old and the New  54
III—An Emerging Emerging Market?  78
IV—Paraguay’s Way of Doing Business  101
V—Labor Forces: Mennonites, Brasiguayos, Indigenous, and the New Urban Class  127
VI—Big Agriculture Versus the Green Energy Utopia  155
VII—Island Diplomacy  177
VIII—Epilogue: Modern Paraguay and Its Challenges  193
Chapter Notes  205
Bibliography  229
Index  233