Latin America · public research route

Paraguay

Paraguay is organized here as a Latin America research route covering 7 public-policy areas. The route begins with Monoculture Agriculture, Deforestation & Logging (Gran Chaco), Tobacco (illicit cigarette manufacturing).

Executive summary

This page is a structured research guide to institutions, public frameworks, and possible lines of inquiry in Paraguay. It supports rapid orientation and identifies where current primary-source verification is required.

Research-use notice. This material is for research and educational use. Information may be incomplete or out of date. Verify primary sources, current law, institutional authority, source dates, and local applicability before acting. This site does not provide legal, financial, investment, regulatory, or implementation advice.

Monoculture Agriculture

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Report illegal deforestation to SEAM (Secretaría del Ambiente)
  • Document indigenous land rights violations — report to INDI (Instituto Paraguayo del Indígena)
  • Report through commodity trader compliance channels (Cargill, Bunge, ADM)

SEAM (Secretaría del Ambiente) — now MADES (Ministerio del Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible). INFONA (Instituto Forestal Nacional) — the forest management authority. INDI — the indigenous affairs institute.

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Commodity traders (Cargill, Bunge, ADM, Louis Dreyfus): Implement zero-deforestation soy sourcing for Paraguay
  • Adopt Soy Moratorium-style commitments for the Chaco
  • Invest in yield improvement on existing farmland

Major soy traders operating in Paraguay: Cargill, Bunge, ADM, Louis Dreyfus. CAPPRO (Cámara Paraguaya de Procesadores de Oleaginosas y Cereales) — the oilseed processors' association.

Regulator / Agency

  • MADES: Enforce the Zero Deforestation Law in the Eastern Region and extend to the Chaco
  • SENAVE (Servicio Nacional de Calidad y Sanidad Vegetal): Integrate environmental standards into soy export certification
  • INFONA: Strengthen forest monitoring and enforcement

MADES — environment ministry. Zero Deforestation Law (Ley 2524/2004) — prohibits conversion of forest to agriculture in the Eastern Region (but not the Chaco, where deforestation continues).

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Contact your Diputado or Senador in the Congreso Nacional to demand extension of the Zero Deforestation Law to the Chaco
  • Support EUDR implementation with transition support for Paraguayan farmers
  • Advocate for Mercosur environmental provisions enforcement
  • Push for indigenous land rights recognition in soy expansion zones

Congreso Nacional del Paraguay — bicameral: Cámara de Diputados (80 members) and Cámara de Senadores (45 members). Paraguay is a presidential republic.

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Deforestation & Logging (Gran Chaco)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Ranch foremen and surveyors report unpermitted clearing and falsified land-use permits to the Public Prosecutor's environmental unit
  • INFONA field technicians publish concession and clearance maps so illegal parcels can be cross-checked against titles

Ministerio Publico (Unidad Especializada de Delitos Ambientales), Instituto Forestal Nacional (INFONA)

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Beef and leather buyers and their banks require farm-level geolocation and deforestation-free certification before financing or purchasing
  • Apply EU Deforestation Regulation due-diligence standards to Paraguayan cattle suppliers

EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), World Bank Paraguay Forestry Project

Regulator / Agency

  • INFONA suspends and revokes land-use change permits and refers violators for prosecution
  • Ministerio del Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MADES) ties environmental licenses to satellite-verified compliance

INFONA, Ministerio del Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MADES)

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • FAO and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity track Chaco loss and condition technical aid on enforcement
  • Enforce EUDR market access so non-compliant Paraguayan exports lose entry to the EU

FAO, UN Convention on Biological Diversity, European Union (EUDR)

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Tobacco (illicit cigarette manufacturing)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Factory and customs staff disclose input-import volumes that exceed legal-sales capacity to investigators
  • Whistleblowers document shipments routed through clandestine Parana River ports

Direccion Nacional de Ingresos Tributarios (DNIT), Ministerio Publico

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Banks apply enhanced due diligence to tobacco-linked accounts under anti-money-laundering rules
  • Correspondent banks decline to clear proceeds tied to sanctioned tobacco firms

Secretaria de Prevencion de Lavado de Dinero (SEPRELAD), US OFAC sanctions designations

Regulator / Agency

  • DNIT issues serialized excise stamps and audits production against legal demand
  • Customs interdicts unstamped product and reconciles input imports with declared output

Direccion Nacional de Ingresos Tributarios (DNIT), Ministerio de Salud Publica y Bienestar Social

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • WHO presses Paraguay to ratify and implement the FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products
  • Interpol and neighboring customs share seizure data through the Tripartite Command

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Interpol

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Illicit Drug Trade (cannabis production and cocaine transit)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Police and SENAD officers report internal corruption and protection rackets to an independent prosecutor
  • Pilots and port operators disclose clandestine airstrips and river ports

Secretaria Nacional Antidrogas (SENAD), Ministerio Publico

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Banks flag and freeze proceeds laundered through Ciudad del Este exchange houses and shell firms
  • Money remitters apply currency-transport controls at the border

SEPRELAD, Banco Central del Paraguay

Regulator / Agency

  • SENAD and the National Police run vetted joint interdiction units along the Parana corridor
  • Public Prosecutor pursues asset forfeiture against trafficking networks

Secretaria Nacional Antidrogas (SENAD), Policia Nacional del Paraguay

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • UNODC supports crop monitoring and alternative-development programs
  • Interpol and the Tripartite Command coordinate cross-border seizures and intelligence

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Interpol

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Tax Havens / Offshore Finance (Ciudad del Este contraband and money laundering)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Compliance officers at exchange houses and banks file substantive suspicious-transaction reports rather than empty filings
  • Customs staff report under-declared free-zone shipments used to mask value transfer

SEPRELAD, Direccion Nacional de Ingresos Tributarios (DNIT)

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Correspondent banks demand beneficial-ownership data before clearing tri-border flows
  • Foreign investors require audited provenance of funds from free-zone counterparties

Banco Central del Paraguay, Superintendencia de Bancos

Regulator / Agency

  • Banco Central and the bank superintendency license and audit exchange houses and remitters
  • SEPRELAD builds a beneficial-ownership registry and acts on high-value reports

Banco Central del Paraguay, SEPRELAD

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • FATF and its regional body GAFILAT track Paraguay's mutual-evaluation follow-up and keep grey-list pressure available
  • IMF technical assistance strengthens financial-intelligence capacity

FATF, GAFILAT, International Monetary Fund (IMF)

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Persistent Organic Pollutants (soy agrochemicals)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Applicators and agronomists report illegal spraying near schools and waterways to SENAVE and the Public Prosecutor
  • Rural health workers document and publish exposure-linked illness clusters

Servicio Nacional de Calidad y Sanidad Vegetal y de Semillas (SENAVE), Ministerio Publico

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Soy buyers and traders require certified buffer-zone compliance and restricted-pesticide bans in sourcing contracts
  • Lenders condition crop finance on independent residue audits

Camara Paraguaya de Exportadores y Comercializadores de Cereales y Oleaginosas (CAPECO), EU import standards

Regulator / Agency

  • SENAVE restricts registration of paraquat and other highly hazardous pesticides
  • MADES sets and enforces buffer-zone and water-quality limits with monitoring

SENAVE, Ministerio del Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MADES)

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • The Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions list and restrict hazardous agrochemicals Paraguay imports
  • FAO and WHO support phase-out of highly hazardous pesticides

Stockholm Convention on POPs, Rotterdam Convention, FAO/WHO

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Gambling (online and sports betting)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Operator staff report concealment of underage or self-excluded bettors to CONAJZAR
  • Compliance officers disclose advertising or limit breaches

Comision Nacional de Juegos de Azar (CONAJZAR), Direccion Nacional de Ingresos Tributarios (DNIT)

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Concession bidders and their financiers commit to responsible-gambling controls as a license condition
  • Banks and payment processors decline transactions with unlicensed operators

DNIT, Banco Central del Paraguay

Regulator / Agency

  • CONAJZAR enforces deposit limits, self-exclusion, and advertising rules and blocks illegal platforms
  • DNIT collects gaming levies and earmarks funds for harm reduction

CONAJZAR, Direccion Nacional de Ingresos Tributarios (DNIT)

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • WHO frameworks on behavioral addiction inform Paraguay's harm-reduction standards
  • Mercosur consumer-protection cooperation aligns cross-border online-betting rules

World Health Organization (WHO), Mercosur

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Research references

Use the public glossary for terminology and the selected publications and working papers for public evidence and methods.