History of Paraguay Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Alfredo Stroessner. When a revolt at the Asunción Navy Yard put a strategic working-class neighborhood in rebel hands, Stroessner's regiment quickly reduced this area to rubble. When rebel gunboats threatened to dash upriver from Argentina to bombard the capital into submission, Stroessner's forces battled furiously and destroyed them. By the end of the rebellion in August 1948 the Colorado Party, which had been out of power since 1904, had almost total control in Paraguay. The fighting had simplified politics by eliminating all other parties and by reducing the size of the army. As 90% of the officer
Economy of Paraguay half, the Chaco, virgin forest is lost to cattle ranching at an annual rate of more than 200.000 hectare (2008). Sustainable wood cultivation is now on the increase. The fishing industry in Paraguay exists almost solely to meet domestic demand. Unlike many South American countries, Paraguay has few mineral resources and very little history of mining success. Foreign companies have explored Paraguay in recent years, searching for overlooked mineral deposits. Small extraction projects exist, seeking lime, clay, and the raw materials necessary to make cement, but the country's iron and steel manufacturers must import raw materials from neighboring countries. In