Try it!

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Paraguay!

I know there's a bunch of countries in South America, but I feel like I am closing in on unanimity. We recently got our first visitor from Paraguay. and without checking a map, I'm not sure how many South American countries are yet to visit. That sounds like too much work to me, but I know it can't be too many.

In any event, we have Paraguay which, like Argentina, was a favorite post-war haven for Nazis on the run. That doesn't make them bad people. It just is.

Anyway, the Republic of Paraguay is:
a landlocked country in central South America, 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 Sudamérica ("Heart of South America").
About 6.5 million people live in Paraguay, which has a long history of military dictatorships and isolationism. They apparently have some serious episodes of stupid in their history, as well:
Solano López led the nation into the Paraguayan War in 1864 against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and was overwhelmingly defeated in 1870 after five years of the bloodiest war in South America. William D. Rubinstein wrote: "The normal estimate is that of a Paraguayan population of somewhere between 450,000 and 900,000, only 220,000 survived the war, of whom only 28,000 were adult males."[19] Paraguay also suffered extensive territorial losses to Brazil and Argentina.

During the pillaging of Asunción in 1869, the Brazilian Imperial Army packed up and transported the Paraguayan National Archives to Rio de Janeiro.[citation needed] Brazil's records from the war have remained classified.[20] This has made Paraguayan history in the Colonial and early National periods difficult to research and study.
OK, Paraguay is pretty small. Argentina and Brazil are pretty big. Uruguay is a whole bunch bigger than Paraguay, too, and not just in size but in population. Paraguay was asking for it. No wonder they got their asses kicked. But I digress.

Paraguay has a fairly healthy economy, one of the best in South America, based on manufacturing and minerals. On the other hand, about a third of the country's population is pretty damn poor. So there's that.

Paraguay, apparently, is largely unspoiled, which I guess comes from being poor as shit. They have great jungles and stuff, including impressive waterfalls, such as the Iguassu Falls, here:


Sounds like a beautiful country. So give a big Eff You welcome to Paraguay.

Update: Not sure how I forgot about this:






No comments: