[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15542-15543]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                PARAGUAY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, a common reality that permeates the complex 
and colorful history of Latin America is large numbers of landless, 
impoverished people and small elites who control the majority of the 
land and the country's wealth, often exploiting its natural resources 
for personal gain.
  While the significant growth of the middle class in some South 
American countries over the past decade is encouraging, nowhere is the 
disparity of land ownership more pronounced than in Paraguay, a 
landlocked country of 6.5 million people that rarely receives the 
attention of the U.S. Congress.
  A few statistics tell the story. Some 80 percent of agricultural land 
in Paraguay is owned by just 1.6 percent of the landowners, and the 600 
largest properties comprise 40 percent of the total productive land. 
Meanwhile, a third of a million small farmers have no land at all. It 
should surprise no one that 40 percent of the country's population 
lives in poverty and that land, wealth, and political power are 
concentrated in the hands of a few.
  The conflict over land in Paraguay, which dates back hundreds of 
years, has grown even worse due to the expansion of mechanized soy 
production, primarily for export. Government policies, including tax 
breaks, access to credit, and weak environmental and labor regulations, 
have favored large corporate farms which are often foreign owned, over 
local family farms that receive little if any government support.
  As we have seen in many other Latin countries, the Paraguayan 
Government has used the army, police, and judicial inaction or bias to 
protect the interests of the large landowners.
  The 35 year dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner ended in 1989. He 
ruled under a state of siege, imprisoned and tortured political 
opponents, and reportedly gave away or sold for a pittance 20 percent 
of the country's land to friends of his regime. Paraguay is slowly 
moving beyond the Stroessner years, but since 1989 more than 130 small 
farmers who have tried to defend their rights under the agrarian reform 
law have reportedly been killed.
  I mention this bit of history to put into context what happened on 
June 15, 2012. According to information I have received, on that day 
several hundred police officers forcibly evicted a group

[[Page 15543]]

of about 60 landless farmers who were occupying an area known as Marina 
Kue in eastern Paraguay. In the ensuing violence, eleven farmers and 
six police officers were killed and others injured from the gunfire. 
There has apparently been no investigation of the conduct of the 
police, despite the existence of published reports about human rights 
abuses, but all the farmers were charged with crimes.
  This case offers the Paraguayan Government an important opportunity 
to conduct a thorough, independent investigation of the events of June 
15, prosecute and punish those responsible for the killings and 
injuries of the farmers and police officers, and enable poor farmers in 
that community to acquire legal rights to land and put it to productive 
use to feed their families.
  I understand that the Paraguayan Government recently began working to 
reach an agreement with the affected communities regarding the land 
dispute prior to the beginning of the trial of the farmers later this 
month. This is encouraging news, and it could be a turning point if it 
results in a thorough, independent investigation and prosecution of 
those responsible and a just resolution of the dispute.
  Paraguay and the United States, while separated by more than 4,000 
miles, share many interests. As chairman of the Appropriations 
Subcommittee on the Department of State and Foreign Operations that 
funds U.S. foreign assistance programs, I have supported programs to 
help Paraguay strengthen its democratic institutions, promote 
efficiency and transparency, and promote equitable economic 
development. I also supported the funding for the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation's Threshold Program in Paraguay.
  There will be other ways the United States can help Paraguay build 
the capacity and accountability of its public sector, expand its 
economy, and sustainably manage its natural resources. Few things would 
do more to advance these goals, and improve social stability, than 
addressing what happened at Marina Kue and providing access to land for 
Paraguay's small farmers. I am aware that several other Members of 
Congress are sending a letter to President Horacio Cartes urging these 
steps, and I look forward to his response.

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