The Tyranny of Soy Agribusiness in Paraguay

Paraguay’s President Lugo hadn’t delivered on promises to farmers who brought him to power, while transgenic soy farms expanded, and then he was overthrown in a coup.

The Tyranny of Soy Agribusiness in Paraguay – From The Real News

President Fernando Lugo was elected in Paraguay, heading the Patriotic Alliance for Change, as the antidote to over 50 years of dictatorship. In particular, Lugo vowed to confront unequal distribution of land, where two percent of the population controlled 70 percent of the land.

Lugo further promised to deal with the proliferation of Genetically Modified Soybeans, occupying 25 percent of the total arable land in the country. Unfortunately, they have not been able to overcome the power of agribusiness giants Archer, Daniels, Midland, Cargill, Monsanto, and several Brazilian companies.

On June 22, 2012, a new tyrant entered the government palace. The right-wing Federico Franco became president in what has been deemed a parliamentary coup against democratically elected, left-leaning President Fernando Lugo. What lies behind today’s headlines, political fights and struggles for justice is a conflict over access to land.  — Benjamin Dangl in AlJazeera

For decades small farmers in Paraguay have been tormented by a tidal wave of GMO soy crops and pesticides expanding across the countryside. Paraguay is the fourth largest producer of soy in the world, and soy makes up 40 percent of Paraguayan exports and 10 percent of the country’s GDP.  An estimated twenty million liters of agrochemicals are sprayed across Paraguay each year, poisoning the people, water, farmland and livestock that come in its path.  — Benjamin Dangl

Industrial soybean farming has crowded out subsistence farmers, poisoned water sources and exposing humans, livestock, and wild species to dangerous pesticides and toxic contanimation.