The Guarani language was originally spoken by the Guarani people that lived in most of the Paraguayan territory and parts of Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil.
The Guarani language is spoken by millions in Paraguay and also in (but in a much smaller percentage) in Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. About two-thirds of Paraguay speaks it and there are all Guarani television shows and literature.
In Paraguay, thousands of people only know how to speak Guarani. This is usually in remote areas were the Guarani people were predominate. But Guarani is spoken everywhere in the country. It is even taught in schools but there is still not much emphasis on it.
The Guarani language is very important in Paraguay. It is one thing that sets the country apart and makes it special. It is also integrated into the culture (music, literature, humor, gastronomy, etc) of the country with thousands speaking a mixture of Spanish and Guarani. It is a beautiful and poetic sounding language that the country needs to treasure and encourage. Also, the people that first spoke Guarani need to be protected and valued.
In 1992 Guarani received official recognition as a state language. The language has come a long way from being seen a savage or primitive language.
Example of Guarani (a Guarani teacher speaking)
Showing posts with label Argentina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Argentina. Show all posts
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Immigration From Paraguay
During the Stroessner dictatorship, thousands of Paraguayans went to Argentina. Also, thousands of Paraguayans went to the United States and there is a huge community in New York City. In 1979 around 11,000 Paraguayans came to the United States. Alost of these came for political reasons (Stroessner) but many were young people in search of job or study opportunities. There is also a large Paraguayan community in Brazil.
In recent times, nothing is changing for the normal or poor people of Paraugay. The president before Lugo was a Colorado named Nicanor Duarte. During his presidency (2003-08) there was a little bit of growth that reached 6.8% in 2007 but this was largely due to soybean agriculture and exportation expansion and meat production, (Nickson, 2008).
Because most of the land is privately owned, normal people or poor farmers see very little or nothing of this small economic growth, this is well explained with, “However this faster economic growth was built on one of the most unequal structures of land tenure in the Americas and so its benefits were captured by a small elite of soybean farmers, cattle-ranchers and corrupt politicians." The National Statistical Office reports that 35.6% of the 6.2 million Paraguayans were still living in poverty in 2007 and Paraguayans living in extreme poverty has increased from 15.5% in 2005 to 19.4% in 2007.
When it seems that it is a time of small growth or optimism, there are mass migrations from Paraguay. The value of exports has gone from US$1 billion in 2005 to US$3 billion in 2007. Because people in the country, especially young people and rural people in 2002 the mass migration started. There were around 100,000 Paraguayans living in Spain in 2007 with only 11,000 being there legally.
In recent times, nothing is changing for the normal or poor people of Paraugay. The president before Lugo was a Colorado named Nicanor Duarte. During his presidency (2003-08) there was a little bit of growth that reached 6.8% in 2007 but this was largely due to soybean agriculture and exportation expansion and meat production, (Nickson, 2008).
Because most of the land is privately owned, normal people or poor farmers see very little or nothing of this small economic growth, this is well explained with, “However this faster economic growth was built on one of the most unequal structures of land tenure in the Americas and so its benefits were captured by a small elite of soybean farmers, cattle-ranchers and corrupt politicians." The National Statistical Office reports that 35.6% of the 6.2 million Paraguayans were still living in poverty in 2007 and Paraguayans living in extreme poverty has increased from 15.5% in 2005 to 19.4% in 2007.
When it seems that it is a time of small growth or optimism, there are mass migrations from Paraguay. The value of exports has gone from US$1 billion in 2005 to US$3 billion in 2007. Because people in the country, especially young people and rural people in 2002 the mass migration started. There were around 100,000 Paraguayans living in Spain in 2007 with only 11,000 being there legally.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
War of the Triple Alliance
Let us start with a little bit of history about Paraguay.
Paraguay has had a rough history. Upon declaring itself independent on May 14, 1811, it became the most prosperous country in South America at that time. Three dictatorships came and during that time the country had no external debt and there was free education for everyone. Also, the government provided large amounts of land that it rented to farmers. During the third government came the War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70), a war that killed the two-thirds of the male population and devastated the countryside. Not only did Paraguay lose a lot of territory but this war also halted the country economically.
The War of the Triple Alliance was fought between Paraguay and the alliance of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Britain was also getting nervous at the thought of a powerful empire that could threaten its interests in South America. In 1863 there was a coup in Uruguay and the defeated government was allied to Paraguay. Paraguay (led by Francisco Solano Lopez) wanted to intervene. Brazil was helping the coup leaders, so war was declared on Brazil. But to be able to fight and help their allies in Uruguay, Paraguayan forces would need to cross through Argentina, which denied them. War was declared against Argentina. The coup in Uruguay triumphed, and the new Uruguayan government declared war against Paraguay. The allies created the Triple Alliance pact and received much economic help from the British (in terms of loans).
Sources:
Long article on war:
http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/tango/triple1864.htm
Long article on war:
http://countrystudies.us/paraguay/11.htm
CIA facts on Paraguay:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pa.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
