Abstract
This study examines the performance of the Paraguayan agro-export model and the distribution of crops, land, and livestock that constitutes its successful expansion. The author associates the major staples - corn, sugarcane, cotton, soybeans, wheat, and cattle - with distinct farm sizes and suggests that these have supported different segments of the peasantry in the face of an extremely unequal land distribution and under the repressive conditions of the Stroessner era (1954-1989). It may be ironic that the success of the model has depended on export (cotton) and food crops (corn and manioc) which are the domain of the minifundia. As Paraguay now embarks on the transition to democratic government, it must grapple with the ecological and social imbalances which underlie the agrarian model.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1531-1540 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | World Development |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 1992 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Development
- Sociology and Political Science
- Economics and Econometrics