PARAGUAY: University Opens Doors to Native Students

Video camera in hand, Isidro Romero is getting ready for another day of classes in the Paraguayan capital. He is studying Communications as part of a programme aimed at breaking down the barriers that have blocked access to university level studies by the country’s small indigenous minority.

Q&A: Women Suffer ‘Hidden Genocide’ in Latin America

Counting cases of machista or sexist violence separately shows that "what is happening is practically a genocide, and a hidden one at that," says Susana Chiarotti, coordinator of the Committee of Experts on Violence (CEVI) which is following up on implementation of the Convention of Belém do Pará.

Q&A: "Paraguayan Women Have Learned to Fight for What They Want"

Women in Paraguay have learned to voice their demands and to fight for them, activist Line Bareiro, whose track record in defence of human rights has earned her nomination for a place on the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), told IPS.

PARAGUAY: Second Paternity Scandal Hits President

Analysts in Paraguay expected Monday’s media coverage to focus on an announced shakeup in the cabinet. But reports that President Fernando Lugo fathered a second child while he was still a Roman Catholic bishop hijacked the news agenda and tarnished celebrations of the first anniversary of his historic victory at the polls.

PARAGUAY: Women Growing in Politics – at Pace Set by Men

The global tendency towards greater participation by women in politics has reached Paraguay, but the pace continues to be set by men, and there are still tough barriers to equal access to elected posts.

PARAGUAY: Debt for Education

The start of the new school year in Paraguay in March once again highlighted the serious shortcomings plaguing the educational system, like rundown school buildings and a shortage of classrooms. But an agreement to swap debt for education will help the government begin to address the problems.

PARAGUAY: The Lot of Domestics – Unceasing Work that Goes Unnoticed

Olga is 39 and María is just 14, but both of them are looking for the same thing while they stay at a centre run by missionary sisters in the Paraguayan capital: a position as a live-in domestic.

PARAGUAY: Nurses Seeking Greener Pastures in Italy

Graciela Samaniego has her bags packed. Along with a number of fellow nurses, she is ready to leave her job at a public hospital in the Paraguayan capital and fly to a city in northern Italy, where she will work in a nursing home.

POLITICS-PARAGUAY: Twenty Years of Transition

Paraguayan society is marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of former dictator Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989) amid uncertainty surrounding the loss of power of the Colorado Party, which ruled the country for 61 years.

PARAGUAY: New Insurgent Group or Framing of Rural Activists?

Whether or not the so-called Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP) - which claimed responsibility for the recent theft of arms from a remote military post - actually exists is a subject of debate among activists, academics and political leaders in Paraguay.

PARAGUAY: Indigenous Minister – First Casualty of Lugo Cabinet

The first indigenous person to hold a ministerial post in Paraguay became the first casualty of the cabinet of President Fernando Lugo.

PARAGUAY: Rural Associations Protest Land Occupations

Agribusiness and landowners’ associations in Paraguay began two days of demonstrations around the country Monday, demanding a stop to invasions of large estates by landless farmers.

PARAGUAY: Strides in Human Rights

The government’s recognition of the human rights violations committed by the dictatorship of General Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989) was the most outstanding achievement this year, according to a new Human Rights Report on Paraguay.

PARAGUAY: Uncontacted Ayoreo Threatened by Deforestation

Large swathes of native forest have been turned into pasture land in the northern part of Paraguay’s semi-arid Chaco region, as large Brazilian cattle ranchers expand their property in this country.

PARAGUAY: Mixed Results for Lugo’s First 100 Days

Amid social demands, political conflicts and uncertainty over Paraguay's economic future, President Fernando Lugo has completed the first 100 days of his term, during which positive achievements have been made in the fields of health and fighting corruption.

PARAGUAY: Agreement with Rural Activists Puts End to Protest

Rural and social activists ended three days of protests Friday in the Paraguayan capital after their leaders met with President Fernando Lugo and reached a preliminary agreement for addressing their demands.

PARAGUAY: The Struggle for Land

The government of Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is facing its first big challenge: providing solutions for the age-old dispute over land ownership between peasant farmers, large landholders and Brazilian settlers.

RIGHTS-PARAGUAY: New ‘Archives of Terror’ Unearthed

The discovery Friday of new archives from the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner is expected to shed new light on the regime that ruled Paraguay from 1954 to 1989.

PARAGUAY: Unjustly Imprisoned Inmates Revive Debate on Prison Conditions

An 11-year delay in releasing a prisoner in Paraguay drew attention to the need for a computerised register of inmates, and revived debate on a prison system that continues to be plagued by problems like overcrowding and lack of access to healthcare and food.

PARAGUAY: Rally Clashes with Aid for Drought Victims

The suspension of a traditional rally in the western Paraguayan region of the Chaco, severely affected by a prolonged drought, has pitted the Fernando Lugo administration and local indigenous communities against the organisers of the automobile race.