ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses Paraguayan experiences regarding land redistribution as an example of the divergences that often occur between progressive constitutional mandates and regressive laws and judicial opinions. In 1992 Paraguay adopted a new constitution with a progressive view of agrarian reform and land distribution. This constitutional text protects private property according to its economic and social function as defined by the law, and the constitution furthers the equitable distribution of land for the comprehensive development of agriculture and establishes the rights of indigenous communities to maintain and preserve their territories for the conservation and development of their distinct ways of life. As such, the current constitution put forward considerable mandates for democratizing both access to land and the benefits of its exploitation. However, in sharp contrast with the constitutional mandate, the regulation of access and use of land is skewed in favour of extremely dominant actors and their economic interests. The country’s most important source of wealth production is in the hands of a few agribusiness agents who lead corporate initiatives to expel indigenous peoples and small peasants from their lands, making the land distribution in Paraguay the most unequal in the world. These features define the socioeconomic and political context that significantly influences the legal system beyond its strictly constitutional framework. As a result, laws, administrative decrees, and judicial rulings reflect, sometimes quite directly, the interests of dominant actors.
