Paraguay
Landlocked country in South America, bounded NE by Brazil, S by Argentina,
and NW by Bolivia.
Government
The 1992 constitution provides for a president, who is head of state
and government, and a two-chamber legislature, the National Congress,
consisting of a senate and chamber of deputies, both elected by universal
suffrage for a five-year term. The president, elected for a nonrenewable
five-year term, appoints and leads the cabinet, which is called the
Council of Ministers. The Senate has 45 members and the Chamber 80,
and the party winning the largest number of votes in the congressional
elections is allocated two-thirds of the seats in each chamber.
History
The Guaraní Indians had a settled agricultural civilization before
the arrival of Europeans: Sebastian Cabot 1526-30, followed by
Spanish colonists, who founded the city of Asunción 1537. From
about 1600 until 1767, when they were expelled, Jesuit missionaries
administered much of the country. It became a province subordinate
to the Spanish viceroyalty of Peru, then from 1776 part of the
viceroyalty of Buenos Aires. In 1811 Paraguay declared its independence.
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