Paraguay's Campesinos March to Demand Right to Land

Thousands of campesinos from across Paraguay took to the streets of Asuncion Wednesday, demanding an agrarian reform in a country where 90 percent of the land is owned by 5 percent of the population, according to Oxfam.

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Two days into the 24th annual March of Poor Campesinos, rural communities gathered at Plaza de Armas in front of the national congress, organized by the National Farmers Federation among others, chanting, “There will be no peace if there's no agrarian reform.”

“The government only talks about presidential reelection and constitutional amendment, while the people are forced to emigrate, without schools, without health services,” said FNC leader Teodolina Villaba to DPA agency. “The government responds to such needs with evictions, arrests and abuses.”

The FNC demands the administration of Horacio Cartes designates about 4.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product to implementing a land reform in the following 10 years so 300,000 families can finally own a piece of land.

They also ask for a price policy that can guarantee campesinos that they will make a living off of their harvests.

FNC member Marciana Amarilla said that economic insecurity created a lot of tensions within rural communities and was also partly responsible for gender violence and femicides.

The government favors cattle ranchers and soy producers more, added FNC leader Marcial Gómez, while small campesinos end up letting their production of vegetables rot while the country imports much of its domestic consumption from neighboring countries, for a total of about US$500 million in 2016.

In Paraguay, crops dedicated to exportation like soy, corn, sugarcane and rice have used 92 percent of the cultivable land between 2012 and 2013, according to Oxfam, while only 8 percent is dedicated to domestic consumption.