BY MILLIE SÁNCHEZ  
Paraguay is a South American nation of 5 million inhabitants. It is very agricultural and has vast hydroelectric resources. In fact, it is one of the countries with the greatest hydroelectric potential in the world, thanks to its large rivers, the Paraná and its tributaries. Paraguay has two huge hydroelectric dams, the Itaipú and the Yacyretá, built through agreements with Brazil and Argentina, respectively.

Paraguay’s electrical generating capacity is 45 gigawatt-hours per year, one of the highest per-capita rates in the world. But only 12 percent is used for the national market. The rest is exported, mainly to Brazil and Argentina. According to so-called experts, electrical power is exported because of a “surplus” caused by “lack of demand.” The reality is that only 26 percent of rural areas in Paraguay have electricity. About 90 percent of electrical power generated in Paraguay is exported.

In contrast with this abundance of electrical power, firewood continues to be in high demand as fuel, particularly for domestic use in the countryside, and even in certain industries that use charcoal.

In industry, the use of wood-burning boilers is still widespread. It is likewise used in the production of red ceramic tile and virgin lime. A substantial amount of firewood is used in coalyards, which produce charcoal for domestic and industrial use. For example, the Aceros Paraguayos steel mill uses charcoal as fuel.

As for domestic use, firewood and charcoal are very common in the rural areas and even in the neighborhoods surrounding the cities. Government reports attribute this fact to what they call “habits and customs” in the countryside, which they describe as a very conservative section of society. According to these “experts,” there is “inertia,” particularly in rural areas, in beginning to use electricity.

Of the 18 years that I lived in Paraguay, I spent three years in the countryside, including one year without electricity. This was in San Pedro de Paraná, near the border with Argentina. In our home we used kerosene lamps. But there are thousands of peasants who have no access to such lamps and instead rely on candlelight.

At the same time, I could see the mansions of the landlords in the area, who not only have electricity but parabolic TV antennas to spend their weekends comfortably. Obviously the problem is not about where you live but the social class you belong to.

It’s outrageous that this is the reality for the majority of the population in one of the countries producing the greatest amounts of electrical power in the world: that they must resort to candles to study, that they have to cook on the floor, that they have no means to conserve food, that they have little access to information, that there are schools and health centers with no electricity.

That is why the workers movement must identify with the needs of the peasants and forge an alliance with them. It’s workers together with farmers who have the power to change society, not only in Paraguay but in the United States.

In June there was an upsurge of struggles. Peasant federations organized demonstrations and went to Asunción, the capital, to protest the steep electrical rates charged by ANDE, the state-owned electric company. They demanded that they be charged only the “social rate,” the lowest electrical rates. They brought their bills with them to expose the fraud, and threatened not to pay their bills.

The president of ANDE arrogantly responded to their demands saying, “These peasants not only take over lands, but now they want free electricity. If this were allowed, it would not set a good example for the rest of the population.”

I would like to end by saying that if there was a true, fighting labor movement with any credibility, and especially a revolutionary party, things would change. Because working people want to fight, and they do fight. They are the only class, in alliance with the peasants, which can change the world.  
 
 
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