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Deep Analysis: Conflicts in Paraguay Affect Brazilian Farmers and Raise Geopolitical Issues
Thousands of Brazilian farmers and descendants of Brazilians living in eastern Paraguay are being persecuted by the Paraguayan People’s Army, a guerrilla group. This ethnic persecution against Brazilians could lead Brazil to obtain authorization from the UN to annex part of Paraguay.
At least, this is what this video suggests that subscribers of the channel sent me. What is really true and what is really false? I will talk about that in this video.
The Importance of Brazil and Paraguay in MERCOSUR
In the current scenario, Brazil and Paraguay are important allies that are part of MERCOSUR and maintain a wide range of associations in various areas. Brazil plays a crucial role in the Paraguayan economy, particularly in the agricultural sector. For example, Brazilians own approximately 60% of the soybean farms located in eastern Paraguay.
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China wants to tear through mountains with 612 km of tunnels to divert water from the Yangtze, erase entire villages from the map, and move over 100,000 people in the name of water security.
The Sentiment of Revanchism in Paraguay
Despite all this, a sentiment of revanchism persists among the Paraguayan people, especially among the more nationalist groups. This sentiment dates back to the 19th century, with the death of the dictator Solano López. In recent years, this sentiment has become more evident as Paraguayan politicians have begun to call for a historical revision of the Paraguayan War. This revision suggests that Brazil has a historical debt to Paraguay. Indeed, the president of Paraguay requested Brazil to return war trophies. This revanchist sentiment, fueled over so many years, ends up reflecting on people on both sides of the border.
Discover the Tension Between Brazilian Farmers and Guerrillas in Paraguay and Their Geopolitical Consequences
It is in this context that the Paraguayan People’s Army emerges, a guerrilla group that operates in eastern Paraguay and has, in recent years, attacked, persecuted, and kidnapped Brazilian farmers and their descendants. The Paraguayan People’s Army is a guerrilla group founded around 2008 with the aim of establishing a socialist state, starting with land reform. And it is here that a direct conflict arises with Brazilian farmers who own land in Paraguay.
This guerrilla group, when compared to, for example, FARC, is quite inferior, consisting of just over a hundred members. But that has been enough for the Paraguayan People’s Army to orchestrate a series of armed operations, including bombings, arson attacks, shootings, and kidnappings. There have been several incidents of Brazilians being kidnapped by these guerrillas.
One of the main goals of these Paraguayan guerrillas would be to expel the almost 400,000 “brasiguaios,” who are Brazilians and their descendants who have settled in Paraguay, mainly in the eastern region, in areas bordering Brazil. These brasiguaios, who drive the Paraguayan economy and agriculture, are seen as a threat by these guerrillas. However, this persecution is not limited to the guerrillas but is also present in the social and political sphere of the country.
Hostile Actions Against Brazilian Farmers
In 2008, the elected governor of the Paraguayan department of San Pedro, José Ledesma, promised to be relentless against Brazilian farmers in his region. At that time, he participated in a march where peasants burned the Brazilian flag. In 2014, Brazilians who had lived for years in Paraguay were expelled from the country. At that time, the Brazilian farmers claimed that the Paraguayan government did not recognize property titles.
Could Brazil Annex the East of Paraguay?
Amid this crisis, which is unknown to the vast majority of Brazilians, the video in question suggests that there is a fear in Paraguay that Brazil might use this ethnic persecution to obtain UN authorization to annex the east of Paraguay, where thousands of Brazilians live. Something similar to what happened in Crimea. But is this really possible?
The United Nations does not have the authority to authorize the annexation of a sovereign country or part of it by another country. However, it can authorize a country to intervene in another, and this could trigger a series of consequences due to the complexity and intentions of the country in question.
Under certain circumstances, the UN could grant Brazil permission to intervene internationally against the ethnic persecution of Brazilians on the global stage. Based on this, Brazil, following the example of Russia in Crimea, could seize the situation to annex the east of Paraguay, where many Brazilians and their descendants live. However, this would be a unilateral act of annexation, an expansionist strategy that would trigger a series of events.
The Historical Context of Brazil and the Absence of an Expansionist Impulse
In fact, there is this persecution against Brazilian farmers in Paraguay. We do not know what goes through the minds of Paraguayans, the guerrilla, the peasants, and whether they truly believe that Brazil might have an interest in annexing the east of Paraguay. It is at this point that we use the historical context of Brazil as a balancing weight.
Unlike European countries, Brazil does not have this history of territorial expansion. We do not have parties, debates, projects, or anything else rooted in our society that advocates for the annexation of neighboring territories, something that the Russians, for example, do have. The Russians want to annex their former Soviet territories.
Quem quer saber de anexar o Paraguai? Temos que anexar o Uruguai que já foi nosso e, por causa de uma intermediação forçada da Inglaterra, para o bem de seus próprios interesses comerciais, se meteu e tornou o Uruguai, uma província nossa, independente. A guerra aconteceu por motivos expansionistas da Argentina que invadiu a Cisplatina para anexar a eles. E hoje temos que pagar taxas para navegar e escoar nossa mercadoria via fluvial por rios que já nos pertenceram.
Vamos anexar todo o Paraguai.👹👹