Mural Internacional, Rio de Janeiro, Vol.10, e42110, 2019. DOI: 10.12957/rmi. 2019.42110| e-ISSN: 2177-7314 BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY: A PROTECTORATE IN THE MAKING?1 Brasil y Paraguay: ¿Un protectorado en construcción? Andrew Nickson2 1Paper originally presented at a conference “Brazil and Spanish America: Relationships and Comparisons”, held in honour of Professor Leslie Bethell, Institute of Latin American Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, 1st March 2019. 2University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, England. E-mail:
[email protected]. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4541-3234 Received on 21 apr. 2019 | Accepted on: 12 nov. 2019. Nickson, A. Mural Internacional, Rio de Janeiro, Vol.10, e42110, 2019. DOI: 10.12957/rmi.2019.42110| e-ISSN: 2177-7314 ABSTRACT This paper questions whether we are witnessing the transformation of Paraguay into a quasi- protectorate of Brazil, masked by the retention of national sovereignty accorded by Mercosur. The paper is divided into four sections. The first gives a brief overview of the history of the bilateral relationship from independence to the 1970s. The second discusses the dramatic impact on that relationship of the construction of the Itaipú hydroelectric plant and the associated immigration of Brazilian commercial farmers to Paraguay. The third section explores the contemporary nature of various dimensions of the relationship – economic, political, social and cultural – consistent with that of a protectorate. The fourth section evaluates the nature and strength of the growing opposition to the relationship inside Paraguay. The paper concludes with reflections on the extent to which its relationship with Paraguay calls into question the ‘soft power’ global image of Brazil projected by Itamaraty.