On May 19th MHEI hosted a talk by Dr. Valdemar J. Wesz Junior (Federal University for Latin American Integration, UNILA) titled "Land Rush in Contemporary Paraguay: Agricultural Commodity Frontier, State, and Illegality." The presentation draws on work accepted for publication in the journal Development and Change.

The talk analyzed the phenomenon of land grabbing in Paraguay over the recent period (2009–2023), with a particular focus on the Department of Alto Paraguay in the Chaco region. It examined the profile of this dynamic, the main actors involved, and the drivers behind the country's current land rush.

Methodologically, the study combined a bibliographic and document review with the systematization of secondary data drawn from an original database built on Paraguay's Rural Landowners Registry, available from 2009 onward. It was complemented by field research carried out in Paraguay between 2014 and 2025, including 240 semi-structured interviews with different actors linked to the agrarian question, with a closer focus on 35 interviewees who acquired land in the Chaco.

We warmly thank Dr. Valdemar J. Wesz Junior for sharing his research and for a stimulating discussion with our group.