A secret hydropower deal with Brazil causes a political crisis in Paraguay

WHEN BRAZILIAN soldiers invaded Paraguay in 1865, after banding together with Argentina and Uruguay, the country lost a quarter of its territory and perhaps 90% of its male population. A century later Brazil sent soldiers to a disputed border region and withdrew only after the two countries agreed to build the world’s largest hydro-electric dam.

The dam, named Itaipu, is still a sore subject in Paraguay. Last month it emerged that in May Paraguay’s current president, Mario Abdo Benítez, had struck a secret deal with Brazil, further reducing Paraguay’s access to cheap power. The resulting outcry has put Mr Abdo Benítez at risk of impeachment. The fiasco has underlined the importance of renegotiating the dam’s governing treaty, which expires in 2023.