Renata Giraldi     Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília – The situation in the area known as Alto Paraná, in Paraguay, on the border with Brazil, improved yesterday (Thursday, February 2) following reports that the government of Paraguay was going to negotiate a solution. For over a week, Brazilian farmers, known as Brasiguaios, who live on and work the land in the region have faced mounting pressure from landless Paraguayan farmers demanding that the Brasiguaios abandon the area.

The Paraguayans claim the land was occupied illegally and is reserved for a land reform program (that will give the land to them). The total number of Brasiguaios in Paraguay is around 350,000, most of them are farmers and they deny illegal occupation.

The state, or department, of Alto Paraná covers an area of slightly less than 15,000 square kilometers and has a population of around 700,000. The capital is Ciudad del Este (formerly Puerto Presidente Stroessner) where a bridge was completed in 1961 crossing the Paraná River connecting the city to the Brazilian city of Foz de Iguaçu (Foz de Yguazú in Spanish). Since that moment, the city and area underwent a population and economic boom that included, shortly thereafter, the construction of the Itaipu power plant, the largest in the world until Three Gorges in China.

In Paraguay, land ownership has always been subject to complicated legislation; even more so when the land is in a border region.  There are, in fact, a lot of legal questions regarding ownership rights in Alto Paraná. A 2007 law on land near the border did not make things any clearer.

Yesterday, in Brazil, the highest ranking Paraguayan diplomat, Didier Olmedo, admitted that the 2007 land law actually aggravated the situation. But he told Agência Brasil that president Fernando Lugo is personally committed to protecting the Brazilians and bringing the problem to a peaceful solution.

“This is a very sensitive and longstanding issue. Unfortunately, some people and groups are trying to take advantage of the delicate situation…. The Lugo government seeks to ensure the safety of all involved and put an end to the impasse.  The commitment exists. However, this is a matter that will have to be resolved in court,” declared Olmedo.

In Paraguay, the Brazilian ambassador, Eduardo Santos, has held daily talks with local authorities. The commander in chief of the Paraguayan armed forces, general Felipe Melgarejo, was in the Paraguayan congress this week testifying at a hearing on the land conflict in Alto Paraná. President Fernando Lugo has ordered a high level of security in the region.

At the same time, there are reports that the landless Paraguayans are planning attacks on property held by Brazilians.

Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English - content modified

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