Asunción Shines in Sudamericana Final
Paraguay is now officially "the best country in South America."
This weekend, Asunción was occupied by some 40,000 Argentines and Brazilians. No, it wasn’t a re-enactment of the Triple Alliance War, but the final of the Copa Sudamericana.
Argentina’s Racing took the second-tier continental cup, handily besting Cruzeiro from Belo Horizonte, Brazil with three goals to one. But for many Paraguayans, the focus wasn’t on the football, but on how their guests perceived their host city. And — surprisingly to some — the visitors loved it.
A flick through social media reveals a few common threads. Argentines in particular praised the capital’s well-stocked supermarkets, affordable prices, balmy subtropical climate, and — above all — the friendly welcome they received from locals.
“The Paraguayan people are the best in the world,” enthused MauroPizzata on X. “You can feel the warmth of the Paraguayan people and the respect they have for us,” agreed uvitaRST. Lola del Carril meanwhile described her hosts as “kind, hospitable, outgoing, joyful. The food is spectacular (amazing beef) and they don’t rip you off. You’re made to feel right at home.”
Isaac also had a few thoughts. “Paraguay is such a beautiful country, bro,” he opined, giving its people “10 points” for hospitality. “The weather is perfect for the bar, there are beautiful chicks, I’m going to stay and live here.” Leandro, meanwhile, claimed that “absolutely nobody will leave with a negative image of Paraguay. Asunción is such a great place.”
Some, perhaps raised to look down on their rioplatense neighbours to the north, were taken aback by what they found. “Shockingly” — reported Manu Campanella — “Paraguay is the best country in South America.”
There were a few dissenting voices. ABC Color — never ones to admit that anything positive could happen under Peña and Nenecho — reported that fans camped out on the Costanera Sur were in sore need of shade, drinking water, toilets and showers. A video of the stands at the Nueva Olla rocking under the pogoing Argentine hinchada raised some health-and-safety eyebrows.
Some Paraguayan men grumbled at how local women fluttered their eyelashes at the flock of fair-haired kurepas. (The attraction was mutual: X user Scarpatou described Paraguayan women as “Dua Lipas reared on Mbejû [sic] and Chipa guazú, it’s genuinely incredible, I’m never going home”).
And other social media users suggested that the visitors’ experience may not entirely reflect the everyday reality of the capital, or indeed the country, as a whole. “Obviously you’ll say that Asunción is Dubai” — chimed in Oveja Espacial on X — “if you stay in the Dazzler, lunch in Paseo La Galería and visit Carmelitas. But Asunción is horrible and hostile for those of us who live here.”
It’s true that visiting fans were experiencing the madre de ciudades through rose-tinted spectacles. They were on holiday, with their teams in contention for glory, with nothing more pressing to do than eat, drink and watch the game in the sun. While those praising Asunción seemed to be genuine accounts rather than bots or paid influencers, pro-government trolls and media were quick to amplify such posts as evidence that all is well in Paraguay under its current management.
I don’t think anyone who has spent more than a long weekend here — and ventured a few blocks beyond Villa Morra — would argue that. Many of the city’s major avenues are more pothole than asphalt. A forest of dangling cables blocks the view overhead, occasionally electrocuting unsuspecting pedestrians. Climb aboard a rush-hour bus from el centro to the suburbs — standing-room only, faulty AC — and get back to me on how warm-hearted and respectful your fellow commuters are.
But it’s interesting to see how many Paraguayans have struggled to accept the compliments. Perhaps people are so frustrated with breath-taking mismanagement by city hall, and the awful sidewalks, roads and public services that result, that it’s almost painful to hear tourists pointing out the positives.
The challenge is for Asunción to become a liveable, functioning capital without losing the laid-back, friendly and unique essence that — even the most grudging inhabitant or nit-picking visitor would concede — can make it so beguiling and pleasant at times.
What’s Happening:
Last Monday at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Santiago Peña was rushed to hospital with chest pains. Paraguay’s health minister said it was due to overwork. After being kept in for observation overnight, Paraguay’s president posted a cheerful video, blaming the excitement of the Argentina-Paraguay game and his 46th birthday. But the news provoked alarm back home: not only for the president’s health. His next-in-line is VP Pedro Alliana, former congressman and governor of Ñeembucú. Even more than Peña, Alliana is widely acknowledged to be a puppet of Horacio Cartes, and is set to be the tobacco baron’s candidate in 2028. You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone …
Drought costs Paraguay $800m in lost energy sales. Output at Itaipú and Yacyretá, the country’s totemic hydroelectric dams, was down 20% year-on-year from January-October. Full-year energy production was forecast to come in at 67,000 GWh, down from 84,000 GWh in 2023. This translates into nearly a billion dollars less revenue that Paraguay would have earned from selling all that power to Argentina and Brazil. Perhaps that helps explain rumblings of dissent among the Colorado Party bases, for whom Itaipú has long been a cash cow. For more on the multifaceted threat posed by the climate crisis, see last Thursday’s post:
Paraguay strives to get in Trump’s good books. The imminent return of the blond convicted felon to the Oval Office has triggered a flurry of lobbying. Peña called him on Monday. And on Friday, Paraguay’s foreign minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano posed for photos at Mar-a-Lago with the incoming POTUS and hanger-on-in-chief Elon Musk. In Washington, he also met with key advisors to Trump on Latin America, discussing measures to “strengthen democracy” in the region: probably a nod to Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and the growing influence of China. It looks like Ramírez Lezcano’s bid to lead the Organization of American States (OAS) from March 2025 is on course: Trump gave the cold shoulder to his rival, Surinam’s foreign minister Albert Ramdin.
All smiles. (Photos: MREParaguay via X).
Culture Corner
🖍️👨🏽🌾💬 Forecasts: A Story of Weather and Finance at the Edge of Disaster was launched last week in Asunción. Written by anthropologist Carly Schuster and illustrated by Enrique Bernardou and David Bueno, the non-fiction graphic novel follows Paraguayan campesino Wilfrido Medina as he struggles with a changing climate, global insurance markets and even supernatural beings to grow his crops and feed his family. Looks like an ingenious way to bridge academic theory, Paraguay’s complex rural reality, and a millennial reading public.
🎨🖼️🏺 Fine art for sale at FUGA. The gallery/showroom is holding its Expo Cierre this Sunday from 5pm to 8pm, featuring top contemporary painters, sculptors, ceramicists and plastic artists including Brune Poletti, Claudia Casarino, Fredi Casco, Laura Mandelik, Sara Hooper and Trama Colectiva. It’s a great opportunity to browse and purchase works by some of the most interesting creative minds at work in Paraguay today (Seiferheld 511, casi De Gaulle).
🎸🎶🎙️ The Guarania on the cusp of immortality. Asunción is hosting the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee from December 2-7, and hopes are high that the Guarania — the folkloric musical style which turns 100 in 2025 — will receive Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity status. Paraguay already has two elements inscribed with UNESCO: the black-and-white Piribebuy poncho and the herbal medicinal culture surrounding tereré. But the Guarania is more than just sentimental ballads: its creator, José Asunción Flores, was a shoeshine boy from La Chacarita and avowed communist who was barred from returning from exile by Stroessner. The Guarania, he said, “is written by and for my people.”
In other news: bribery at Miss Universe? | BID: time running out to boost productivity | La Niña threatens soybean harvest | Milei to privatize waterway | how to fight informality | low-quality jobs | ATM smash and grab | Paraguay’s NGO crackdown in the Guardian | NACLA on Rafael Barrett | Women march for #25N | The other ‘guay | Femicides rocket | Pigs fly