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Rural Paraguayans fight for land amid corruption, poverty and violence

The closing down of a community-run radio in eastern rural Paraguay is the last example of repression in a country where 1,6% of its population controls 80% of its agricultural land. Português Español

By Toby Hill
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radio comunitaria en Paraguay_1.png
radio comunitaria en Paraguay_1.png

Premises of community -run radio Radio Mandu'arä, in the remote rural east of Paraguay. Photo: Toby Hill. All rights reserved.

For 14 years, Juan Aveiro broadcast Radio Mandu’arã to a cluster of communities in a remote corner of eastern Paraguay. He and his team of volunteer journalists worked from a makeshift studio painted pink. On one wall, a mural depicts Paraguayan peasant farmers or campesinos with their fists in the air, behind a banner proclaiming “peace and justice!”

Like many other community-run radios across Paraguay, Mandu’arã’s output reflected the quotidian ups and downs of local campesino life.

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0