ABSTRACT
Contemporary Paraguay shows the aftereffects of a long process of deterioration of its institutions and productive structure, as manifested in the facts that more than half of the population lives in conditions of poverty and the country as a whole suffers from an extreme lack of credibility among the nations of the world. This harsh heritage is also apparent in the country’s low technological level and in the limited effort to raise that level, all of which poses a severe challenge to revitalize the economy and improve its international competitiveness.
