Contact Admin. Paraguay is a constitutional republic with a population of approximately 6. The president is the head of government and head of state. In voters elected Nicanor Duarte Frutos of the Colorado Party as president in generally free and fair elections. The country has a multiparty electoral system but has been governed by the Colorado Party for 60 years. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces. Although the government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, there were serious problems in some areas.
There were reports of killings by the police and military, which the government investigated. Convicted prisoners, other detainees, and conscripts were subject to abuse by government authorities. Prisons were routinely overcrowded and violent. In isolated cases, the civil rights of citizens were violated by arbitrary arrest and detention and lengthy pretrial detention.
The judiciary remained inefficient and subject to corruption and political influence. Police occasionally used excessive force against illegal but generally peaceful demonstrations. Violence and discrimination against women remained a problem, as did trafficking in persons, discrimination against persons with disabilities and indigenous persons.
Protections for worker rights and child labor were inadequately enforced. While the government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, security forces were responsible for killings involving the use of unwarranted or excessive force.
There were reports of police officers killing persons while acting outside the scope of their duties and of deaths in custody. Martinez and Vega were community activists who campaigned for peasants' rights and against the excessive use of agricultural pesticides. Family members received death threats and were warned not to pursue an investigation into the case. The case remained pending at year's end. Piatti reportedly suffered from delirium.
