Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASUNCION82
2009-02-09 20:16:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Asuncion
Cable title:  

LUGO LAUNCHES AGRARIAN REFORM

Tags:  PGOV ECON PREL PA 
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VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAC #0082/01 0402016
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 092016Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASUNCION
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7584
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
UNCLAS ASUNCION 000082 

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR WHA/BSC MDASHBACH, BFRIEDMAN, MDRUCKER, AND WHA/FO
CMCMULLEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON PREL PA
SUBJECT: LUGO LAUNCHES AGRARIAN REFORM

UNCLAS ASUNCION 000082

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR WHA/BSC MDASHBACH, BFRIEDMAN, MDRUCKER, AND WHA/FO
CMCMULLEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON PREL PA
SUBJECT: LUGO LAUNCHES AGRARIAN REFORM


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Following the creation of an inter-agency
commission in November, President Lugo launched an agrarian reform
program January 12 in San Pedro Department. Lugo's program is more
of a national social plan to assist landless peasants than agrarian
reform per se. It is a good start, but expectations are high, and
this issue is one of the Lugo administration's biggest (and
longer-term) challenges. In addition to a national land survey,
Lugo will need to develop a more comprehensive plan and gain the
buy-in of the private sector. END SUMMARY.

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LUGO LAUNCHES INCREMENTAL AGRARIAN REFORM
--------------


2. (U) President Lugo created the Agrarian Reform Executive
Coordinator (CEPRA) in November, which is administered by National
Institute for Rural and Land Development (INDERT). CEPRA is a
21-member inter-agency commission which will oversee Lugo's agrarian
reform agenda. Its members include the Ministries of Agriculture and
Livestock, Health and Social Welfare, Education and Culture, Public
Works and Communications, Commerce and Industry; ministerial-level
institutions; department and municipal governments; and Paraguayan
state-owned enterprises.


3. (U) With that architecture in place, the Lugo administration
launched its agrarian reform program January 12 in rural San Pedro
Department, one of the country's poorest areas. INDERT President
Alberto Alderete, Interior Minister Rafael Filizzola, and
Agriculture Minister Candido Vera Bejarano jointly announced that
the Paraguayan government would fund USD 12 million in
infrastructure and social works projects to assist 5,000 campesino
families living in 26 settlements in San Pedro. INDERT General
Manager Blas Recalde told EmbOffs January 13 that after San Pedro,
CEPRA will expand its agrarian reform program to include "hot-spots"
in the departments of Canindeyu, Caaguazu, Misiones and Caazapa.


4. (U) The Paraguayan government does not have an official record of
the number of campesinos in Paraguay or an official register of land
allocated to them. Consequently, many buy, sell, or occupy land
without title; inherit land without going through legal inheritance
procedures; are in constant disputes over property size; and compete

for title rights of the same property. Paraguay has one of the most
unbalanced land-holding disparities in the world. The 1991 land
survey revealed that 351 persons own 9.7 million hectares of the
country's land. There are legal titles to more than 600,000 square
kilometers of land, but Paraguay's territory is only about 406,750
square kilometers. Many land titles were fraudulently obtained, and
many people hold "rights" to land that can't be legally sold. The
poor, particularly in the country's interior, lack access to credit,
and given increased insecurity in rural areas, are seeking a better
future in Asuncion.
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AGRARIAN REFORM -- A LUGO PRIORITY
--------------


5. (SBU) During the 2008 election campaign, Lugo promised to
conduct national land reform, recuperate public land illegally
acquired by government officials - particularly during the
Stroessner regime - and conduct a national land survey. Paraguayans
elected Lugo with high expectations that his administration would
implement comprehensive agrarian reform. Recalde told EmbOffs that
Lugo's administration has not yet initiated comprehensive agrarian
reform, noting that CEPRA is currently developing a nationwide plan.
He said CEPRA will initially implement reform through small-scale
land surveys, infrastructure projects, and social welfare programs.



6. (SBU) According to Recalde, Lugo's main objectives for agrarian
reform are to alleviate poverty and improve the welfare of
approximately 120,000 impoverished campesino families via integrated
assistance programs. He explained that the program would help the
government mitigate social pressure -- including peasant protests
and land invasions -- tackling poverty and land issues. Recalde
made clear that Paraguay's land reform would not receive external
funding from other countries or international organizations,
specifically mentioning Bolivia, Venezuela, the World Bank, and the
IMF.

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AGRARIAN REFORM GOALS AND STRATEGIES
--------------


7. (SBU) Recalde said that CEPRA plans to implement the government's
agrarian reform program in seven stages over a 15-year period. The
program will set short, medium and long term objectives, and take
into account Paraguay's diverse social, political and economic
realities. He said that that CEPRA is developing a home-grown,
long-term solution to agrarian reform based on a program
co-developed by CEPRA and Spanish NGO Intermon Oxfam.


8. (U) This year, the Paraguayan government will aggregate CEPRA
members' assistance programs; mitigate urgent problems in campesino
settlements; solidify the process for engaging campesino groups; and
determine criteria for implementing agrarian reform. By 2013, the
government wants to consolidate agrarian reform policies; increase
peasants' access to land; promote sustainable agriculture by
providing training to farmers; introduce additional campesino social
welfare programs; and improve public transparency, efficiency,
coordination, and productivity in the agriculture sector. Finally,
by 2023 the government intends to equalize access to land resources;
achieve sustainable rural development; and implement key legal
reforms that will help position Paraguay as a key agriculture
producer and exporter.


9. (SBU) CEPRA's reform efforts will focus on seven key areas,
including: access to land; technical assistance through public
entities; access to credit; investment in social programs;
production and infrastructure; a land survey; and a strategy for an
integrated agrarian reform. Recalde emphasized that the program
will prioritize agrarian self-sufficiency by teaching campesinos
farming techniques, encouraging commercialization, increasing access
to inputs, including land titles; improving infrastructure; and
introducing social programs to improve peasants' livelihoods.

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LUGO'S REFORMS HAUNTED BY THE PAST
--------------


10. (SBU) Previous attempts at land reform in Paraguay -- including
incomplete land censuses and attempts by INDERT and other agencies
to purchase land on behalf of campesinos -- failed to live up to
their promises due to insufficient political will and political
interference. Corruption, political meddling, and a lack of
inter-agency coordination contributed to the government's failure to
demarcate boundaries accurately, register land titles, preserve
records, adjudicate land rights, and resolve land disputes. In
addition, many persons have become professionals at working the
system - petitioning for land, selling the land, and petitioning
again. INDERT President Alderete told Charge February 2 he has a
list of people who have received land from INDERT in the past and
will not be allowed repeat claims. Alderete also said if CEPRA is
not successful in its efforts, land reform will fail.


11. (SBU) Internationally-supported land reform programs such as the
USD 29 million 1992 World Bank-funded "Cadastre and Property
Registry Program" have had little impact. The International
Development Bank has worked with the government since 2004 to
eliminate barriers to property registration services; increase the
legal certainty of land deeds; phase out of government
administration of colonial settlements; and legalize land titles.

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COMMENT
--------------


12. (SBU) Lugo's agrarian reform project is more of a national
social program to assist landless peasants than agrarian reform per
se. As a net food exporter, Paraguay's economy is agriculture-based
and all relevant actors have a stake in the process. Some
influential private agriculture producers feel Lugo has not made
their security a priority or fully included them in the process.
While there appears to be consensus that a national land survey is
an integral part of land reform, no action has been taken to move a
survey forward as yet. Expectations are high, and while Lugo's
program is a good start, this issue is one of his administration's
biggest (and longer-term) challenges. In the short term, Lugo's
reform efforts could assuage increasingly agitated campesinos. In
the long run, however, if Lugo is to implement a successful agrarian
reform policy - something none of his predecessors could do - he
will need to develop a more comprehensive plan with the support of
key stake-holders such as the private sector. END COMMENT.