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
Geography of Paraguay Geography of Paraguay Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America, bordering Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. The Paraguay River (Spanish: "Río Paraguay") divides the country into strikingly different eastern and western regions. Both the eastern region (officially called Eastern Paraguay, "Paraguay Oriental", and known as the Paraneña region) and the western region (officially Western Paraguay, "Paraguay Occidental", and known as the Chaco) gently slope toward and are drained into the Paraguay River, which separates and unifies the two regions. With the Paraneña region reaching southward and the Chaco extending to the north, Paraguay straddles the Tropic of Capricorn and experiences