PARAGUAY POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC UPDATE JUNE 16-22,

UNCLAS ASUNCION 000538

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/BSC, INL/LP (JIM HIDES)
EB/IFD/OIA
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/AA
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR LYANG
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN
TREASURY FOR OSIA MAUREEN WAFER
TREASURY FOR OTA WARFIELD, VAN KOCH, MILLAR
COMMERCE FOR ITA SARAH COOK
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PA
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC UPDATE JUNE 16-22,
2007


1. SUMMARY

-- Striking Uranium
-- Child's Name: Unknown
-- Cargill Investment Worth Beans
-- INL Funds Fight for IPR
-- Drug Addiction Doubles

STRIKING URANIUM


2. (U) Alexander Hirtz of Transandes Paraguay SA announced
that the Canadian company has confirmed the existence of
uranium in the Yuty area of the Caazapa Department. Hirtz
(the firm,s primary investor) explained that the next step
is to determine the quantity of uranium located at the Yuty
find. The company currently has USD six million invested
towards uranium mining in Yuty. Paraguay has a similar
geological make up as South Africa (where a large uranium
deposit exists),thus the potential for a substantial find of
enriched uranium in Paraguay does exist and could be of
considerable importance and financial gain for Transandes
Paraguay SA and any others involved in the project. (NOTE:
Press reports indicate that demand for uranium in the region
is expected to grow as Argentina has almost completed
construction on a second nuclear power plant and Brazil also
has plans for the construction of a nuclear power plant. END
NOTE.)

CHILD'S NAME: UNKNOWN


3. (U) According to GOP data over 77 percent of children in
Caaguaz are not documented in the Civil Registry. The
Department of Caaguaz held an event this week to create
awareness about the large number of unregistered children in
the region. Various government ministries (Youth and
Adolescence Secretariat, Ministry of Justice and Work,
Ministry of Public Health and Social Justice, the Ministry of
Education and Culture, and the Interior Ministry,s
Identification Department of the National Police) in
conjunction with the NGO Plan Internacional - Paraguay,
formed an inter-institutional roundtable in 2005 to modify
law and policy to facilitate registration. They also began a
national registration campaign. (NOTE: since then 26,000
children and adolescents have bee registered; however,
factors such as distance from a Civil Registry and parental
indifference continue to be a major source of the problem.
END NOTE.) GLOBAL Infancy, Plan Internacional and the Youth
and Adolescence Secretariat presented a proposal at the event
to initiate further efforts for the remainder of the year.

CARGILL INVESTMENT WORTH BEANS


4. (U) United States based agricultural company Cargill broke
ground on June 19 to begin construction of a river port and
soybean crushing facility near Asuncion. According to
Cargill, the total investment could reach USD 180 million.
The initial USD 17 million investment will increase the
port's capacity as a grain terminal. Once completed, the new
terminal is expected to create 3,000 jobs. Cheaper and more
reliable barge transportation from Asuncion to Argentina on
the Paraguay River justifies the new facility even though
most of the soybeans are grown near other Cargill facilities
near Ciudad de Este on the less easily navigable Parana River
in eastern Paraguay near Brazil. Cargill exported more that
USD 300 million worth of agricultural products from Paraguay
in 2006.

INL FUNDS FIGHT FOR IPR


5. (U) In a joint ceremony with Paraguay,s Attorney General
Ruben Candia Amarilla, Ambassador Cason donated USD 130,000
worth of INL-funded equipment and vehicles to the Public
Ministry for the benefit of Paraguay,s specialized IPR
prosecutors on June 20. Computers, scanners, cameras and
other office equipment along with five 4x4 trucks will be
assigned to the Attorney General,s IPR units in Asuncion and


Ciudad del Este. Press coverage of the ceremony emphasized
the Ambassador,s remarks about the importance of protecting
intellectual property rights.

DRUG ADDICTION DOUBLES


6. (U) A new study by the Paraguayan Drug Observatory
released January 19 shows that habitual consumption of
marijuana among adolescents has almost doubled between 2001
and 2005. The survey-based study showed an increase from 1.3
percent in 2001 to 2.2 in 2005. The study determined that
school children will come into contact with up to 13
different illegal substances (including cocaine, ecstasy,
amphetamines, and methamphetamines) by the time they reach
middle school. The study also found that 64 percent of
minors consume alcohol. 40 percent of that group consume on
a regular basis, of which 25 percent are under the age of
fourteen. Social programs that provide treatment do exist
(such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous),and
the Drug Observatory has begun prevention programs in
schools. SENAD formed a Micro-trafficking Department to
combat smaller scale drug operations that focus on
adolescents. However, the increased numbers of drug users
demonstrates the necessity for further improvement.
CASON