ABSTRACT
Little can be understood about Paraguayan culture without reference to the Guarani language. Paraguay is a bilingual country, but, although nearly all Paraguayans can speak Guarani, about half cannot speak Spanish. Paraguayans enjoy the distinction of being the only national group in the Western Hemisphere that speaks an aboriginal language more widely than a European one. They are the only group in the Western Hemisphere that accords an aboriginal language. All Paraguayan presidents have been able to speak Guarani, and many have used the language to gain political advantage while campaigning. Paraguayan society frowns on women who demand things for themselves, branding them as “egoists” who have lost their femininity. This is not to say that Paraguayan women are marching in the streets demanding equal treatment or equal opportunity. The Paraguayan Communist party used the incipient labor groups to create the National Workers Confederation in 1930, which purported to represent all existing labor organizations.
