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PDF hosted at the Radboud Repository of the Radboud University Nijmegen The following full text is a publisher's version. For additional information about this publication click this link. http://hdl.handle.net/2066/113571 Please be advised that this information was generated on 2021-10-08 and may be subject to change. E.B. Zoomers pment and Survival Strategies in Central Paraguay RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND SURVIVAL STRATEGIES IN CENTRAL PARAGUAY The policy of agricultural colonization as an instrument for alleviating the situation of the rural poor Distributed by FORIS Publications Holland P.O. Box 509 3300 AM Dordrecht The Netherlands FORIS Publications USA P.O. Box 5904 Providence R.I., 02903 U.S.A. CIP DATA A CEDLA Publication Centrum voor Studie en Documentatie van Latijns Amerika Centro de Estudios y Documentación Latinoamericanos Centro de Estudos e Documentaci» Latino-Americanos Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation Keizersgracht 395-397 1016 EK Amsterdam The Netherlands Coordination К. Willingham ISBN 90 6765 180 X © 1988 CEDLA No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the copyright owner. Printed in The Netherlands RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND SURVIVAL STRATEGIES IN CENTRAL PARAGUAY The policy of agricultural colonization as an instrument for alleviating the situation of the rural poor Een wetenschappelijke proeve op het gebied van de beleidswetenschappen PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Katholieke Universiteit te Nijmegen, volgens besluit van het college van decanen in het openbaar te verdedigen op woensdag 28 september 1988 des namiddags te 1.30 uur precies door Elisabeth Bemhardine Zoomers geboren op 3 mei 1959 te Amstelveen Promotor: Prof. dr. J.M.G. Kleinpenning PREFACE This thesis is the result of a study carried out under the provisionally financed 'Access to Land for Low Income Groups in the Third World' research programme of the Department of Human Geography of the Developing Areas of the Faculty of Policy Sciences of the Catholic University of Nijmegen. The terms of reference, as formulated in 1984, were to 'cany out a study of the rural problem in Paraguay in general, of that of the old central agricultural region, in particular, of the recent changes which have occurred there under the influence of government policy and other developments, of the present position of the lower income groups in the region and of their future prospects'. The emphasis of the study lay on the extent to which changes had occurred in the access of small farmeis in an old agricultural region (Central Paraguay) to agricultural land as a result of government policy (in the form of agricultural colonization). • » * This preface is merely intended to inform the reader briefly about the subject dealt with in the remainder of these pages and to serve as a simple separation between the title page and the list of contents. In my opinion, there is little value in the addition of high-flown words, since interested readers will not be deterred from further study by a short and business-like 'foreword', while the use of flowery language is unlikely to induce the 'uninterested' to read further. Thus this is not a foreword giving a detailed description of how I gradually became interested in Paraguay and how my ideas slowly matured, because it will already be clear from the flrst paragraph that the research lasted only four years and that it was bom in the brain of others. Nor is it a foreword with a detailed description of wild adventures or hardships suffered in the field, because crude cowboy and Indian stories would do an injustice to the respect I have gained for Paraguay and, moreover, tall stories in general say more about the innocence and lack of awareness of the researcher than about the 'strange customs' in that distant, exotic country. Lastly, the use of a preface to indicate the limitations of the research is senseless. Excusing myself in advance for gaps in the contents caused by lack of time or an absence of resources gives the mistaken impression that, without these limitations, a masterpiece would have been created. Because gaps occur after a lapse of time even in the works of a lifetime, and because I wish to forestall the unlikely event of my taking a doctoral degree to be a 'historian' after many years of research, I have felt obliged to restrict myself as far as possible to the terms of reference, so that those readers who are interested in background matters should refer to the detailed bibliography appended to this study. ν The advantage of writing a preface afterwards is that it can serve at the same time as an 'acknowledgement'. In the ßrst place, I should like to thank all the members of the Department of Human Geography of the Developing Areas and other colleagues for their encouragement at work and/or their company during lunch and in the corridors. It is also perhaps a good moment to recall that my interest in the problem of development in general, and in carrying out research, in particular, was awakened by the lectures and guidance of the various lecturers attached to the Department of Human Geography of the Developing Countries of the Stale University of Utrecht. My thanks, lastly, to my parents for everything which although a 'matter of course' to them, is more than 'just appreciated' by myself. It is easier to thank the people who made a specific contribution to the realization of this book, such as Guus van Westen, who made critical comments on a number of chapters, Mr. J.F.L Coenen, who produced the maps, the staff of the drawing office and photographic laboratory of the Catholic University of Nijmegen for the production of the figures and photographs, and Emile Gemmeke for his assistance in 'technical' matters. My thanks also to fur Schuurman for the translation of the summary in Spanish and to Mr. R.R. Symonds, who revised the English text. Special mention should also be made of all people who helped me in Paraguay or took part in the research. My thanks are due to various officers of the 'Instituto de Bienestar Rural' and the 'Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería', to several staff members of the 'Universidad Católica', those attached to the 'Comité de Iglesias' and very many other people, in particular, Ronaldo E. Dietze, Hugo Davalas, Hugo R. Oddone, Carlos Alberto González, Mima Vázquez and Cesar López. I would like to thank all these people most sincerely. Finally, my special thanks to Hugo Mazzoleni and Gladijs Torres of the 'Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería', who helped me to conduct surveys and conquer dirt roads, from whom I learned to patch tyres and who trained me in win in 'Guaraní. It was mainly they who lifted a tip of the veil spread over the Paraguayan countryside and initiated me into the Paraguayan 'good life'. Then- friendship and collaboration made (his study possible and contributed, in particular, to a most interesting and pleasant stay. During the surveys and long wafts we experienced at first hand how the problems of minifundia and latifundia were linked with each other. We saw how our 'laws': 'the larger the latifundia, the more unfindable the small farmers', and 'the more invisible the small farmer, the more pressing his problems', were confirmed many times during our lengthy journeys of discovery in the countryside. Annelies Zoomers Utrecht, 1st July 1988 vi CONTENTS PREFACE LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS LIST OF MAPS LIST OF ANNEXES INTRODUCTION 0.1 By way of introduction 1 0.2 A framework for evaluating colonization policy 3 0.3 The aim and outline of this study 8 Chapter 1: CHARACTERISTICS AND RESULTS OF THE COLONIZATION POLICY 1.1 The background to agricultural colonization 12 1.1.0 Introduction 12 1.1.1 The unequal distribution of the population 13 1.1.2 The unequal distribution of the land 15 1.1.3 The unfavourable tenure situation 19 1.1.4 The inadequate methods of production 21 1.2 The implementation of the policy of further colonization 23 1.2.0 Introduction 23 1.2.1 Changing the distribution of population 23 1.2.2 Improving the distribution of land 29 1.2.3 Improving the tenure situation 30 1.2.4 Improving methods of production 31 1.3 Evaluation of the colonization policy 32 1.3.0 Introduction: positive and negative views 32 1.3.1 Changing the distribution of population 38 1.3.2 Improving the distribution of land 41 1.3.3 Improving the tenure situation 43 1.3.4 Conclusions 46 vii Chapter 2: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CONGESTED CENTRAL REGION 2.1 Identifying the problem of rural congestion 49 2.1.0 Introduction 49 2.1.1 Rural congestion resulting from high farm density 52 2.1.2 Rural congestion resulting from unequal distribution of the land 54 2.1.3 Rural congestion and the tenure situation 57 2.1.4 Conclusions 59 2.2 The response of the policy to the rural problem 62 2.2.0 Introduction 62 2.2.1 Farm density and the migration programme 62 2.2.2 Latifundism and internal colonization 63 2.2.3 Unfavourable tenure situation and the legalization programme 64 2.2.4 Conclusions 65 2.3 The responses of the population to the rural problem 65 2.3.0 Introduction 65 2.3.1 The vertical response: agricultural intensification. 66 2.3.2 The diagonal response: off-farm activities.