VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAC #0819/01 2761618
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031618Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASUNCION
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6242
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ASUNCION 000819 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS TO WHA/BSC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM IAHRC PA
SUBJECT: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES STRUGGLE FOR RECOGNITION 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  Hundreds of indigenous persons earned land 
concessions from the government August 3 and September 24 
after commandeering Asuncion's two most popular parks, the 
latest in a series of indigenous efforts to promote land 
rights and resource preservation.  Indigenous groups comprise 
a small percentage of the population, and most live in 
extreme poverty with limited access to basic needs such as 
food and potable water.  Indigenous groups frequently 
complain of lands rights abuses and their inability to obtain 
land.  They remain politically disenfranchised in spite of 
their contributions to Paraguayan culture, and government 
efforts at direct assistance to the indigenous population 
have been hampered by scarce resources and the lack of 
political will.  Although proposed changes to the law 
protecting indigenous persons may enhance indigenous groups' 
political and legal standing, they may not be sufficient to 
defuse the growing number of indigenous protests.  Aid 
organizations have helped improve living conditions in 
indigenous communities; however, the future of Paraguay's 
indigenous depends largely on government action.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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INDIGENOUS ACTION 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Over 370 persons earned land concessions from the 
government August 3 and September 24 after commandeering 
Asuncion's two most popular parks.  Two indigenous groups, 
the Mbya and the Ache Chupapou, lived illegally between June 
and September in Plazas Italia and Uruguaya in order to 
protest their lack of access to land.  The last of the 
protesters departed Asuncion in late September after the 
Institute of the Indigenous (INDI), the government agency 
responsible for indigenous affairs, promised to allocate land 
to indigenous groups in Canindeyu Department.  INDI President 
Augosto Fogel announced September 24 that INDI had agreed to 
purchase 295 hectares of land for USD 200,000 on behalf of 
the Mbya.  The press reported that INDI agreed to temporarily 
reassign the Mbya -- who camped for four months in Plaza 
Uruguaya -- to existing indigenous communities until they can 
be permanently resettled in Canindeyu.  Hundreds of members 
of the Ache Chupapou group lived in Plaza Italia for three 
months and departed August 3 after the government allocated 
an additional USD 300,000 to INDI to purchase 2,000 hectares 
for them. 
 
¶3. (U) Indigenous leaders began organizing themselves 
politically in 2006 to promote land rights and resource 
preservation.  Indigenous leaders established the National 
Indigenous Movement (NIM) in August 2006 to promote 
indigenous rights; however, candidates representing NIM 
failed to win a single seat in the November 2006 municipal 
elections.  According to Director of Indigenous Issues Noelia 
Boggino of the Public Defender's office, indigenous persons 
have increasingly taken to protesting in order to demand land 
rights.  (NOTE:  These protests come at a significant cost to 
the municipalities.  The government spent several thousand 
dollars cleaning up Plaza Italia and Plaza Uruguaya in the 
aftermath of the protests.  END NOTE.) 
 
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INDIGENOUS CONDITIONS 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Paraguay's indigenous groups comprise 1.7 percent of 
the total population, and most live in extreme poverty with 
limited access to basic needs such as food, medicine, and 
potable water.  According to the 2002 census, 87,099 
indigenous persons were affiliated with five linguistic 
families -- the Guarani, Zamuco, Maskoy Mataguayo, Guaicuru, 
and Lengua Maskoy -- organized into 20 different officially 
recognized ethnic sub-groups.  Most subsist as farmers, 
fishermen, or laborers for Mennonite communities in the 
Chaco.  Antonio Alonso of the NGO National Coordinator of the 
Pastoral Indigenous (CONAPI) told EmbOff in July that over 98 
percent of the indigenous population earns less than one 
dollar per day, rendering most unable to meet such basic 
survival needs as food, shelter, and sanitation.  Only 2.5 
percent has access to potable water, and only 9.7 percent has 
access to electricity.  Over 90 percent are illiterate, and 
most lack adequate access to social services such as 
healthcare and education. 
 
¶5. (U) Indigenous groups frequently complain of lands rights 
abuses and their inability to obtain land.   Indigenous 
fishers and farmers suffer from land and resource degradation 
by non-indigenous persons who illegally harvest fish or 
deforest indigenous lands through logging or soy cultivation. 
 Lack of access to sufficient land hinders indigenous groups' 
ability to progress economically and maintain their cultural 
identity.  In addition, many indigenous persons cannot travel 
to the capital to solicit land titles from INDI.  Although 
the 1992 constitution allocates 100 hectares of land to each 
indigenous family, most own little or no land, and those that 
do often do not hold the legal title and therefore risk 
having their land taken from them.  Non-indigenous persons 
routinely push indigenous families off their land without 
compensation.  Although the constitution prohibits the rent 
or sale of indigenous lands, non-indigenous persons 
frequently offer alcohol or other commercial goods to 
indigenous persons in exchange for the illegal use of their 
ancestral lands. 
 
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PARAGUAYAN GOVERNMENT INACTION 
------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (U) Indigenous groups remain politically disenfranchised 
in spite of their contributions to Paraguayan culture.  The 
Guarani -- the largest indigenous group comprised of six 
different ethnic sub-groups -- are a symbol of national unity 
as Guarani is one of the country's two official languages and 
the name of its currency.  Historically, the government has 
either ignored or impinged on the rights of its indigenous 
population.  In fact, the Inter-American Commission on Human 
Rights (CIDH) convicted Paraguay of violating six articles of 
the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights in February 
¶2005.  The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IDH) 
consequently sentenced the Paraguayan government to pay 
reparations in the amount of USD 36,169 to two indigenous 
communities, provide assistance such as healthcare, and 
return ancestral lands.  The government made feeble attempts 
to reallocate land to indigenous communities, but subsequent 
reparations and other assistance such as education, 
healthcare, and labor rights remain inadequate.  Although the 
IDH ruling did not improve living conditions for the 
indigenous communities involved, it did hold Paraguay legally 
accountable for human rights infractions associated with its 
treatment of the indigenous. 
 
¶7. (U) Government efforts at direct assistance to the 
indigenous population have been hampered by scarce resources 
and the lack of political will.  The government channels most 
of its support -- USD 2.07 million in 2007 -- for the 
indigenous population through agencies such as INDI and the 
Public Defender's office, which handles complaints involving 
indigenous rights.  The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock 
provides seeds to indigenous communities for cultivation, 
while the Ministry of Education and Culture administers 
"Escuelaviva," a program which distributes educational 
materials to indigenous communities.  However, Boggino of the 
Public Defender's office told PolOff that the government 
lacked the political will and adequate funding to support 
these programs.   CONAPI Representative Alonso noted to 
EmbOff in July that the Agriculture Ministry did not 
effectively train indigenous aid recipients to cultivate 
crops.  He also stated that Escuelaviva did not provide 
funding for teacher training to help teachers use the 
program's educational materials. 
 
¶8. (U) Although proposed changes to the law protecting 
indigenous persons may enhance indigenous groups' political 
and legal standing, they may not be sufficient to defuse the 
growing number of indigenous protests.  Oscar Ayala and Maria 
Julia Cabello of Tierraviva, an NGO that specializes in 
indigenous land rights, told EmbOff that the revised law 
could grant special consideration to indigenous persons 
involved in land disputes and would create the National 
Council of the Indigenous (NCI) to represent the entire 
indigenous community, improving coordination on key 
indigenous issues such as land rights and political 
representation. 
 
-------------------- 
AID EFFORTS CONTINUE 
-------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Aid organizations, including NGOs and faith-based 
groups, have helped improve living conditions in indigenous 
communities.  Catholic groups provide clothing, food, and 
agricultural assistance.  Mennonite groups furnish seeds and 
technical assistance to indigenous communities in the Chaco. 
UNICEF funded well construction to provide potable water for 
indigenous communities in the Department of Boqueron. 
Oguasu, with INDI's assistance, reached out to approximately 
700 indigenous persons -- many of whom were involved in drugs 
and prostitution - to reintegrate them into local 
communities.  The NGO Community and Sustainable Development 
(CODES) broke ground in July 2007 on a housing project that 
will provide homes for 15 indigenous families in the 
Department of Itapua.  CODES plans to build up to 179 homes 
for indigenous families with the assistance of the Paraguayan 
government.  In conjunction with this project, CODES will 
build health centers, schools, and wells, and offer 
indigenous communities advice on improving sanitation, 
nutrition, and agricultural productivity. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (U) The future of Paraguay's indigenous depends largely 
on government action.  Indigenous protests in urban areas for 
land rights and against deforestation are increasingly 
common.  The government could assuage indigenous groups by 
helping them organize within the political system and by 
enforcing their constitutionally guaranteed right to land. 
The government agency INDI could also better coordinate aid 
efforts with local municipalities and organizations that have 
been more effective at alleviating indigenous poverty.  In 
the absence of government support, indigenous groups will 
have few other outlets to express their frustration than to 
protest. 
 
Please visit us at     http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/asuncion 
CASON