ABSTRACT
Paraguay has passed through roughly five economic periods since 1954, when Stroessner seized power: stabilization, a prolonged period of negligible growth, the Itaipú boom, stagnation and a modest recovery, during which agriculture emerged as the leading economic sector. The stagnation period undermined Stroessner’s popularity among key players within the public and private sectors and set the stage for the growing dissent and the internal Colorado party disputes that finally unseated him. Paraguay made impressive economic strides under Stroessner, primarily because of the political stability of his regime. The growth of Buenos Aires as the region’s port city during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries gave Paraguay its first export market. Industria Nacional de Cemento and Acero del Paraguay illustrate clearly a tendency that became pronounced during Stroessner’s terms in office: the feudalization of Paraguay’s economy. Paraguay remains one of the least industrialized nations in South America. Agriculture, cattle ranching, and lumbering have long been the basis of the economy.
