VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAC #0082/01 0402016
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 092016Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASUNCION
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7584
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS ASUNCION 000082 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/BSC MDASHBACH, BFRIEDMAN, MDRUCKER, AND WHA/FO 
CMCMULLEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON PREL PA
SUBJECT:  LUGO LAUNCHES AGRARIAN REFORM 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Following the creation of an inter-agency 
commission in November, President Lugo launched an agrarian reform 
program January 12 in San Pedro Department.  Lugo's program is more 
of a national social plan to assist landless peasants than agrarian 
reform per se.  It is a good start, but expectations are high, and 
this issue is one of the Lugo administration's biggest (and 
longer-term) challenges.  In addition to a national land survey, 
Lugo will need to develop a more comprehensive plan and gain the 
buy-in of the private sector.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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LUGO LAUNCHES INCREMENTAL AGRARIAN REFORM 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) President Lugo created the Agrarian Reform Executive 
Coordinator (CEPRA) in November, which is administered by National 
Institute for Rural and Land Development (INDERT).  CEPRA is a 
21-member inter-agency commission which will oversee Lugo's agrarian 
reform agenda. Its members include the Ministries of Agriculture and 
Livestock, Health and Social Welfare, Education and Culture, Public 
Works and Communications, Commerce and Industry; ministerial-level 
institutions; department and municipal governments; and Paraguayan 
state-owned enterprises. 
 
¶3. (U) With that architecture in place, the Lugo administration 
launched its agrarian reform program January 12 in rural San Pedro 
Department, one of the country's poorest areas.  INDERT President 
Alberto Alderete, Interior Minister Rafael Filizzola, and 
Agriculture Minister Candido Vera Bejarano jointly announced that 
the Paraguayan government would fund USD 12 million in 
infrastructure and social works projects to assist 5,000 campesino 
families living in 26 settlements in San Pedro.  INDERT General 
Manager Blas Recalde told EmbOffs January 13 that after San Pedro, 
CEPRA will expand its agrarian reform program to include "hot-spots" 
in the departments of Canindeyu, Caaguazu, Misiones and Caazapa. 
 
¶4. (U) The Paraguayan government does not have an official record of 
the number of campesinos in Paraguay or an official register of land 
allocated to them.  Consequently, many buy, sell, or occupy land 
without title; inherit land without going through legal inheritance 
procedures; are in constant disputes over property size; and compete 
for title rights of the same property.  Paraguay has one of the most 
unbalanced land-holding disparities in the world.  The 1991 land 
survey revealed that 351 persons own 9.7 million hectares of the 
country's land.  There are legal titles to more than 600,000 square 
kilometers of land, but Paraguay's territory is only about 406,750 
square kilometers.  Many land titles were fraudulently obtained, and 
many people hold "rights" to land that can't be legally sold.  The 
poor, particularly in the country's interior, lack access to credit, 
and given increased insecurity in rural areas, are seeking a better 
future in Asuncion. 
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AGRARIAN REFORM -- A LUGO PRIORITY 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) During the 2008 election campaign, Lugo promised to 
conduct national land reform, recuperate public land illegally 
acquired by government officials - particularly during the 
Stroessner regime - and conduct a national land survey.  Paraguayans 
elected Lugo with high expectations that his administration would 
implement comprehensive agrarian reform.  Recalde told EmbOffs that 
Lugo's administration has not yet initiated comprehensive agrarian 
reform, noting that CEPRA is currently developing a nationwide plan. 
 He said CEPRA will initially implement reform through small-scale 
land surveys, infrastructure projects, and social welfare programs. 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) According to Recalde, Lugo's main objectives for agrarian 
reform are to alleviate poverty and improve the welfare of 
approximately 120,000 impoverished campesino families via integrated 
assistance programs.  He explained that the program would help the 
government mitigate social pressure -- including peasant protests 
and land invasions -- tackling poverty and land issues.  Recalde 
made clear that Paraguay's land reform would not receive external 
funding from other countries or international organizations, 
specifically mentioning Bolivia, Venezuela, the World Bank, and the 
IMF. 
 
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AGRARIAN REFORM GOALS AND STRATEGIES 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) Recalde said that CEPRA plans to implement the government's 
agrarian reform program in seven stages over a 15-year period.  The 
program will set short, medium and long term objectives, and take 
into account Paraguay's diverse social, political and economic 
realities.  He said that that CEPRA is developing a home-grown, 
long-term solution to agrarian reform based on a program 
co-developed by CEPRA and Spanish NGO Intermon Oxfam. 
 
¶8. (U) This year, the Paraguayan government will aggregate CEPRA 
members' assistance programs; mitigate urgent problems in campesino 
settlements; solidify the process for engaging campesino groups; and 
determine criteria for implementing agrarian reform.  By 2013, the 
government wants to consolidate agrarian reform policies; increase 
peasants' access to land; promote sustainable agriculture by 
providing training to farmers; introduce additional campesino social 
welfare programs; and improve public transparency, efficiency, 
coordination, and productivity in the agriculture sector.  Finally, 
by 2023 the government intends to equalize access to land resources; 
achieve sustainable rural development; and implement key legal 
reforms that will help position Paraguay as a key agriculture 
producer and exporter. 
 
¶9. (SBU) CEPRA's reform efforts will focus on seven key areas, 
including: access to land; technical assistance through public 
entities; access to credit; investment in social programs; 
production and infrastructure; a land survey; and a strategy for an 
integrated agrarian reform.  Recalde emphasized that the program 
will prioritize agrarian self-sufficiency by teaching campesinos 
farming techniques, encouraging commercialization, increasing access 
to inputs, including land titles; improving infrastructure; and 
introducing social programs to improve peasants' livelihoods. 
 
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LUGO'S REFORMS HAUNTED BY THE PAST 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Previous attempts at land reform in Paraguay -- including 
incomplete land censuses and attempts by INDERT and other agencies 
to purchase land on behalf of campesinos -- failed to live up to 
their promises due to insufficient political will and political 
interference.  Corruption, political meddling, and a lack of 
inter-agency coordination contributed to the government's failure to 
demarcate boundaries accurately, register land titles, preserve 
records, adjudicate land rights, and resolve land disputes.  In 
addition, many persons have become professionals at working the 
system - petitioning for land, selling the land, and petitioning 
again.  INDERT President Alderete told Charge February 2 he has a 
list of people who have received land from INDERT in the past and 
will not be allowed repeat claims.  Alderete also said if CEPRA is 
not successful in its efforts, land reform will fail. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Internationally-supported land reform programs such as the 
USD 29 million 1992 World Bank-funded "Cadastre and Property 
Registry Program" have had little impact. The International 
Development Bank has worked with the government since 2004 to 
eliminate barriers to property registration services; increase the 
legal certainty of land deeds; phase out of government 
administration of colonial settlements; and legalize land titles. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶12. (SBU) Lugo's agrarian reform project is more of a national 
social program to assist landless peasants than agrarian reform per 
se. As a net food exporter, Paraguay's economy is agriculture-based 
and all relevant actors have a stake in the process.  Some 
influential private agriculture producers feel Lugo has not made 
their security a priority or fully included them in the process. 
While there appears to be consensus that a national land survey is 
an integral part of land reform, no action has been taken to move a 
survey forward as yet. Expectations are high, and while Lugo's 
program is a good start, this issue is one of his administration's 
biggest (and longer-term) challenges.  In the short term, Lugo's 
reform efforts could assuage increasingly agitated campesinos.  In 
the long run, however, if Lugo is to implement a successful agrarian 
reform policy - something none of his predecessors could do - he 
will need to develop a more comprehensive plan with the support of 
key stake-holders such as the private sector.  END COMMENT.