ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay. Fourteen days ago, the #LuchaProlongada (ProlongedStruggle) began setting up its tents in Asunción's O'Leary Plaza. Organizations with national leadership are gathered there, while pickets and roadblocks are taking place in the country's departments.

In a context of increasing criminalization of the struggle for access to land, organizations deployed in the nation's capital and in central locations across the departments, as a unique way to denounce the persecution and evictions experienced by peasant and indigenous communities .

This constant violation of rights left families completely vulnerable, denying them the right to decent housing, the right to food, and the right to water and sanitation; in other words, denying them the most basic human rights, which the State itself must guarantee.

Adding to this worrying situation for the countryside is the prolonged drought that has plagued the country for three years, as well as the hailstorms and some heavy rains that destroyed the crops produced during 2021.

Peasant and indigenous families lost almost all their subsistence production, which is their main source of livelihood. Consequently, they would also have no income-earning production.

To date, Mario Abdo's government has not proposed public policies that can truly help families cope with the crisis. 

A country in protest

Alicia Amarilla is a peasant leader of Conamuri, Vía Campesina Paraguay , and part of the national leadership of the #LuchaProlongada movement. She explained to Presentes that this struggle by rural and urban organizations is a commitment she made last year, following the amendment of Article 142 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes the struggle for land, through the Zavala-Riera Law.

At the end of November 2021, the National Peasant, Indigenous, and Popular Plenary—formed in the wake of increasing state violence against communities—decided to hold the historic mobilization of December 10, 2021, in which 10,000 people marched.

also planned larger mobilizations in March 2022, all aimed at halting the massive and violent evictions. The organizations stood in solidarity with each other and reoccupied the Cristo Rey peasant community and the Hugua Po'i indigenous community, which had been violently evicted.

The national leadership has settled in Asunción and from there is guiding the departmental mobilizations: San Pedro, Caaguazú, Itapúa, and Alto Paraná.

In the city of Asunción, marches and rallies are held every day to inform citizens about the ongoing protests, in a conversation between the countryside and the city.

Discussions are also held in Ñomongueta Square about the country's injustices and the consequences of climate change, all with the goal of explaining their presence and, at the same time, being so far from their homes/territories.

“For us, it's a long struggle, because we don't know when it will end. We decided to wage it at the departmental, district, and community levels because the economic conditions don't allow us to come and resist in Asunción. People decided to demonstrate near their homes and contribute from there to make soup kitchens,” Alicia explains when asked about the meaning of #LuchaProlongada.

The main demands of the organizations

The repeal of the Zavala-Riera Law criminalizing the struggle for land.

The trial of State Attorney General Sandra Quiñónez.

Public policies for agricultural production.

A patriotic and sovereign stance in the Itaipu negotiations.

Another central point of the request is the trial of Attorney General Sandra Quiñonez, who is accused of favoring certain powerful sectors, including mafia members and criminals linked to the country's narco-politics. The official, on the other hand, attacks the most vulnerable groups, with charges and imprisonment. She is also accused of authorizing the amendment to the penal code.

On Wednesday, March 16, the impeachment petition was presented in the Chamber of Deputies, but no vote was taken because the session lacked a quorum after its reading. This was thanks to Colorado deputies from the Honor Colorado (Cartista) and Añetete (government) factions, who were joined by the Liberal Llanista faction.

On the morning of Tuesday, March 22, the second tense session took place. Amid heated discussions, the roll-call vote was finally held, with Sandra Quiñónez saved by Colorado deputies from Cartistas, the ruling party, and Llanistas. The request for #Impeachment was rejected in the Chamber of Deputies with 37 votes in favor, 32 against, 6 tense, and 5 absent. 

Among other issues that concern the organizations is the debate over the sovereignty of the Itaipu Binational. They demand that grassroots sectors have an impact on making the treaty beneficial to the people. The Itaipu treaty will be discussed in 2023 with Brazil.

Women's participation 

Alicia's reflection reflects on the struggle for land and resistance in Paraguay. Women are the most vulnerable to violence and, at the same time, the most active in their communities, putting their bodies on the line in defense of their territory.

“ There's a lot of participation from women because we're the hardest hit by crises. Climate change affects us, the feminist economy stems from production—from selling eggs, corn, and cheese at departmental fairs, with their fresh produce, and from our indigenous women with their handicrafts—and now nothing comes out. The fair is ending, and women are in extreme poverty . Our children can't even go to school anymore because they don't even have flip-flops,” the leader expressed with concern.

She also mentioned another growing social problem: the closure of rural schools . Only a few remain in the departmental capitals, which means traveling miles by motorcycle to reach one. This often means exclusion from the right to education due to a lack of resources to attend. "Women, girls, and boys are condemned to live in ignorance; there are no development policies," she states.

So far, the government's best offer has been to provide chicks, seeds, and some supplies, which the #LuchaProlongada organizations believe doesn't solve the root problems.

They have decided not to give in to the government's offers and to continue pressing for their demands, which they believe can resolve the problems in the countryside and the country.

Self-management and solidarity

The organizations camping in Plaza O'Leary are: Conamuri, OLT, FNC, ONAI, and MCP. The tent organization has a soup kitchen, which feeds all the activists. On a Sunday afternoon, we can see a group shelling peanuts for the next day's breakfast or preparing vori-vori for lunch. All tasks are divided up on-site: cleaning, food preparation, and security.

With the arrival of autumn and several days of rain, the organizations, and Conamuri in particular, are calling on the public to help sustain the struggle with coats and blankets. They are also donating non-perishable food items for the soup kitchen, as the supplies they arrived with are running out.

On the other hand, several organizations have expressed their solidarity in support of the #LuchaProlongada (Prolonged Struggle), such as Base Is, which held a seminar on the struggle for land, within the framework of the mobilizations and the Peace and Justice Service (SERPAJ-Py).

#XXVIIIMarchaCampesina Decades of struggle

The FNC is celebrating its 28th anniversary. This year, the march is taking place within the framework of the #LuchaProlongada (Prolonged Struggle) of the Peasant, Indigenous, and Popular Plenary and is convened by the alliance and resistance movement.

A large march is planned for Thursday, March 24th, at 7:00 a.m., from the Metropolitan Seminary to Plaza O'Leary in downtown Asunción. Since Monday, March 21st, more people from the organizations have arrived to camp and join the actions.

"We invite all organized democratic sectors and the general public to join the great #MarchaCampesina , which will expand this year, to bring to Asunción the heartfelt demands of the country's most vulnerable communities and to demand compliance with all human rights, peasant rights, the rights of indigenous peoples, and the social, cultural, and environmental rights of the entire Paraguayan population," the FNC states in its official communications.