In Guaraní Lands: Paraguay as a Brazilian Tourist Destination in the Magazines and Newspapers of Brazil and Paraguay during the Stroessner Era

The regime of Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989) hoped to attract Brazilian tourists to Paraguay. This was a dramatic change from attracting Argentine tourists in the early twentieth century. This article argues that while the government desired Brazilian tourists, there was limited information for potential Brazilian tourists to access in Brazil and in Portuguese. Nevertheless, it is possible to reconstruct some tourist destinations and activities for Brazilian tourists from Brazilian newspaper and magazine articles, a few surviving copies of a Portuguese-language tourist guide to Paraguay, Carta del Paraguay, and technical reports. This article argues that while Brazilians had little interest in travel to Paraguay, some did make the journey to their neighboring nation and most likely enjoyed the attractions and destinations suggested by the press.