LGBT rights in Paraguay binding on Costa Rica and sets a binding precedent for other Latin American and Caribbean countries including Paraguay. There is currently a lawsuit to recognize same-sex marriage that relies on the IACHR ruling pending with the courts. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Paraguay since 1880. The age of consent in Paraguay is 16 for homosexuals and 14 for heterosexuals. During the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner from 1954 to 1989, LGBT people faced heavy persecution and were forced to maintain secret lives. On 1 September 1959, a fire broke out in the capital city of Asunción. Bernardo Aranda, a
History of Paraguay (to 1811) those of the Jesuits. Tensions between the natives and the Europeans grew steadily during the last years of the 18th century. Almost no archaeological research has been done in Paraguay, and the pre-Columbian history of the country is amazingly documented. What is certain is that the eastern part of the country was occupied by Guaraní Indians for at least 2 years before the Spanish conquest. Evidence indicates that those indigenous inhabitants developed a fairly sophisticated level of political autonomy, with quasi-sedentary, multivillage chiefdoms. The recorded history of Paraguay began indirectly in 1516 with the failed expedition of Juan Díaz de