As a teenager, I backpacked around Latin America with some friends. Due to some issues in Bolivia, we ended up taking the long way to Brazil, through Paraguay.
The contrast was stark. We crossed the border and changed buses. Instead of a truck converted into a bus, with rain leaking through the roof, we had a decent Marcopolo with AC. Instead of a dirt road, there was pavement.
We arrived in Asunción late at night and grabbed a hotel not too far from the bus station. The woman at the front desk treated us like crap. So rude. We were exhausted and honestly didn’t care much, but man, I still remember that lady’s butt face. But then we handed over our burgundy passports.
Her face changed; from what seemed like barely contained rage to instant guilt.
“I’m so, so, so sorry, I thought you were Argentinean. I didn’t know.”
She showed us the rooms and even had someone help us with our bags.
Seems like the War of the Triple Alliance is still a source of hurt.
We didn’t stay long in Asunción; we took the bus to Iguazú the next morning. The little we saw, we liked. It seemed to be moving in a better direction than La Paz, Bolivia. And while still a bit underdeveloped, it felt like a nice, welcoming city. Unless, of course, you happened to be Argentinean.
Paraguayan, living in Asunción. Interesting, yet a bit simplistic, take. Things in Paraguay are much more complex and nuanced than they seem at first sight.
Asunción downtown is "incoherent" as the OP said, but one of the factors is that most historic buildings in it are concentrated in the hands of a very few landlords. The buildings, since they are historic, cannot be demolished, and property taxes for downtown are quite high. So, the landlords leave them to rot, building new things after the buildings fall down due to neglect, taking advantage of the fait accompli.
That remark about "con factura or sin factura?" (invoice or no invoice) is not longer a thing. Most businesses now give you a legal invoice as a matter of course.
Westerners and gringos especially, have a special ability to turn up to a place that’s different from where they came and point out all of the failings in their eyes. Neglecting that the reasons they hate their own country might be coupled to those differences.
Certain distance helps with observation. If you are used to X from your childhood, it may not strike you that X is counterproductive.
This would work equally well for a Paraguayan coming to the West.
BTW the city where I live (Ostrava) is architecturally weirdly mixed as well, at least in the older parts, where Communist blocks of flats were often built into a bomb-related gap in an older street built in a very different (and usually more human-friendly) style.
There is a rather splendid travel book about the strange country that is Paraguay called 'At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels through Paraguay'. Part history, part travelogue. All weird. Probably only available second hand. I've never been there. Having read the above book, I'm not sure I want to.
IIRC Paraguay's economy is based in some part on smuggling stuff into other countries, duty free. Whisky in particular.
There's a Behind The Bastards two parter on Stroessner: very much worth listening to. They cover the underage girls issue, for which I'd say the accusations are more than credible, but he was an absolute scumbag for plenty of other reasons as well, including his Nazi associations. Paraguay provided a key hub and waypoint for Nazis escaping Europe in the aftermath of WWII.
A couple of reasons why Paraguay is a great place for remote workers:
* Friendly people
* Great food (soups like Vori Vori, delicious BBQ)
* Decent internet
* Cheap rent
* Low taxes (no taxes on foreign income)
* Timezone alignment with the US
* Economic stability
I’ve been here over 10 years and as long as you learn to not rely too much on public services, you’ll be fine.
Paraguay has a long history of stupid wars. They started the Chaco War with Bolivia over control of the Chaco region, which they thought was full of oil. Turns out it wasn't and it it's mostly uninhabited forests with some Mennonites now.
That was a limits problem to which several negotiated outcomes were tried, none of them successful. Then Bolivians tried a policy of encroaching military forts in the Chaco region. It was a matter of time before a Bolivian patrol would clash with a Paraguayan patrol. That's how happened. I wouldn't say it was stupid more than any other border wars are stupid.
There's rich mineral/gas deposits. Also the part that we lost to Bolivia does contain oil. Also with fracking probably there is oil to be found, but not worth the investment, yet. Don't spread misinformation please. Half of The Chaco was already occupied by Bolivia when the war started. It wasn't Paraguay just starting the war. Same for triple alianza, England had a lot of interest in keeping Paraguay from becoming industrialized.
The river? Contaminated since they don't have sewer system.
The best place to go according to locals? The mall.
Want to go anywhere else in Paraguay? It'll take you ages due to a lack of infrastructure.
It’s interesting how malls have mostly died in America but are still a huge thing in many countries, especially ones that have become more developed in the last couple of decades.
They have (or had) bus services somewhat similar to Greyhound in the US. A friend and I took a trip to the Iguacu falls from Asuncion (more than 20 years ago, granted), which was an overnight bus trip with a brief stop in Ciudad del Este. It was reasonably comfortable as these things go. In a car it would be quicker but still probably 5 - 6 hours even though it's not much more than 200 miles because, as you've pointed out, the roads aren't amazing.
The railway had closed down only a few years before I visited but, at that time, there was little hope of it reopening. I've no idea what's happened since.
> Indeed, 70% of the new housing supply is acquired by foreign investors as a capital preservation strategy.
Housing being used as an investment vehicle is pretty much a global problem and one of the most pernicious consequences of modern capitalism. Be it Argentina->Paraguay or Russia->London or Germany->Spain.
In some ways, it is just more noticeable now. Because even countries like the US had a huge push for public infrastructure in the road network, state schools and energy when those things were both more and less important than now. Now urban housing, broad education and energy efficiency have become more important with changes in society and the economy. But there isn't the same public influence in those areas now.
That is, there were always estates, land, and business. And private education. Just that public investment created and enabled other opportunities. A massive road network enabled sprawl where additional housing could be constructed at a decent cost. Now the economy wants density for network effects, but there isn't a similar expansion in public transport. So urban housing has become very valuable.
There is an increasingly interest among Brazilians (specially libertarians) to change its citizenship to Paraguay, most due its fiscal policies that are the complete opposite from Brazil. Apart from rich regions like Southeast and South, Paraguay is like any other place in Brazil.
I'm compelled to live there as well, but the factor of living far from anything interesting is quite important in my book, but definitely is better than Brazil (which for me doesn't have any future). I would prefer to move to richer countries but it's been harder and harder these days
>>Apart from rich regions like Southeast and South, Paraguay is like any other place in Brazil.
That would be a problem, no offense. I get the sentiments, but Brazil is not a basket case by any measure. I'm in upstate São Paulo and have traveled to Paraguay many times, and have Guarany speaking [brazilian] friends with properties there. The ruling elite there is authoritarian in a way that is hard to convey. You just got to see for yourself.
Anyways, it's not a place for inquisitive and authority averse minds.
But... Mengele was barely in Paraguay - he spent some time in hiding in 1958, moved permanently in 1959, and then departed again in 1960 because he didn't consider the country a safe place to hide [1].
As for why Mossad didn't capture him: they didn't know where he was - they found his address in Argentina, but by the time they looked into it he had already fled [2].
I think it must’ve looked very different back then. Probably a developed urban center surrounded by agrarian communities, instead of the mixed, developing community it is today.
[+] [-] zubiaur|8 months ago|reply
The contrast was stark. We crossed the border and changed buses. Instead of a truck converted into a bus, with rain leaking through the roof, we had a decent Marcopolo with AC. Instead of a dirt road, there was pavement.
We arrived in Asunción late at night and grabbed a hotel not too far from the bus station. The woman at the front desk treated us like crap. So rude. We were exhausted and honestly didn’t care much, but man, I still remember that lady’s butt face. But then we handed over our burgundy passports.
Her face changed; from what seemed like barely contained rage to instant guilt. “I’m so, so, so sorry, I thought you were Argentinean. I didn’t know.” She showed us the rooms and even had someone help us with our bags.
Seems like the War of the Triple Alliance is still a source of hurt.
We didn’t stay long in Asunción; we took the bus to Iguazú the next morning. The little we saw, we liked. It seemed to be moving in a better direction than La Paz, Bolivia. And while still a bit underdeveloped, it felt like a nice, welcoming city. Unless, of course, you happened to be Argentinean.
[+] [-] radeck|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] sombragris|8 months ago|reply
Asunción downtown is "incoherent" as the OP said, but one of the factors is that most historic buildings in it are concentrated in the hands of a very few landlords. The buildings, since they are historic, cannot be demolished, and property taxes for downtown are quite high. So, the landlords leave them to rot, building new things after the buildings fall down due to neglect, taking advantage of the fait accompli.
That remark about "con factura or sin factura?" (invoice or no invoice) is not longer a thing. Most businesses now give you a legal invoice as a matter of course.
Anyway, nice to see my hometown featured on HN.
[+] [-] aunty_helen|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] inglor_cz|8 months ago|reply
This would work equally well for a Paraguayan coming to the West.
BTW the city where I live (Ostrava) is architecturally weirdly mixed as well, at least in the older parts, where Communist blocks of flats were often built into a bomb-related gap in an older street built in a very different (and usually more human-friendly) style.
This is a good example:
https://mapy.com/s/covogafahu
How I dislike that green tower...
[+] [-] collingreen|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] hermitcrab|8 months ago|reply
IIRC Paraguay's economy is based in some part on smuggling stuff into other countries, duty free. Whisky in particular.
The long term dictator, Stroessner, is credibly accused of having abducted and raped vast numbers of underage girls. https://www.americasquarterly.org/fulltextarticle/how-paragu...
[+] [-] bartread|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] paulvs|8 months ago|reply
* Friendly people * Great food (soups like Vori Vori, delicious BBQ) * Decent internet * Cheap rent * Low taxes (no taxes on foreign income) * Timezone alignment with the US * Economic stability
I’ve been here over 10 years and as long as you learn to not rely too much on public services, you’ll be fine.
[+] [-] steviedotboston|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] sombragris|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] Darthbuddha|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] rurban|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] cjo_dev|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] keiferski|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] bartread|8 months ago|reply
The railway had closed down only a few years before I visited but, at that time, there was little hope of it reopening. I've no idea what's happened since.
[+] [-] sombragris|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] andrepd|8 months ago|reply
Housing being used as an investment vehicle is pretty much a global problem and one of the most pernicious consequences of modern capitalism. Be it Argentina->Paraguay or Russia->London or Germany->Spain.
[+] [-] pieds|8 months ago|reply
That is, there were always estates, land, and business. And private education. Just that public investment created and enabled other opportunities. A massive road network enabled sprawl where additional housing could be constructed at a decent cost. Now the economy wants density for network effects, but there isn't a similar expansion in public transport. So urban housing has become very valuable.
[+] [-] kgwgk|8 months ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|8 months ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] SchwKatze|8 months ago|reply
I'm compelled to live there as well, but the factor of living far from anything interesting is quite important in my book, but definitely is better than Brazil (which for me doesn't have any future). I would prefer to move to richer countries but it's been harder and harder these days
[+] [-] voxleone|8 months ago|reply
That would be a problem, no offense. I get the sentiments, but Brazil is not a basket case by any measure. I'm in upstate São Paulo and have traveled to Paraguay many times, and have Guarany speaking [brazilian] friends with properties there. The ruling elite there is authoritarian in a way that is hard to convey. You just got to see for yourself.
Anyways, it's not a place for inquisitive and authority averse minds.
[+] [-] zabzonk|8 months ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] probably_wrong|8 months ago|reply
As for why Mossad didn't capture him: they didn't know where he was - they found his address in Argentina, but by the time they looked into it he had already fled [2].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Mengele
[2] https://archive.org/details/houseongaribaldi00isse/page/250/
[+] [-] DiscourseFan|8 months ago|reply