History of Paraguay (to 1811) Buenos Aires in 1580, the steady deterioration in the importance of Asunción contributed to growing political instability within the province. In 1617 the Río de la Plata Province was divided into two smaller provinces: Paraguay, with Asunción as its capital, and Río de la Plata, with headquarters in Buenos Aires. With this action, Asunción lost control of the Río de la Plata estuary and became dependent on Buenos Aires for maritime shipping. In 1776 the crown created the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata; Paraguay, which had been subordinate to Lima, now became an outpost of Buenos Aires. Located at
Politics of Paraguay Politics of Paraguay Politics of Paraguay takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic ( The National Constitution mandates a separation of powers in three branches. Executive power is exercised solely by the President. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the National Congress. The Judiciary power is vested on Tribunals and Courts of Civil Law and a nine-member Supreme Court of Justice, all of them independent of the executive and the legislature. The Economist Intelligence Unit has rated Paraguay as "flawed democracy" in 2016. Paraguay's highly public government was fundamentally changed by the 1992