The identity that threatens Paraguay's gray zone: the "brasiguayos".

This research project exposes the reality of a cross-border population with a reified identity, a product of the human mobility to which it was exposed. The cross-border population of the "brasiguayos", since the 1970s, migrated from Brazilian territory to Paraguayan territory in search of better economic and productive opportunities. In view of the opening of the Paraguayan border, the "brasiguayos" migrants participated in the purchase and sale of land for agro-production. The figures of how many and how many people entered the country are not exact, but an estimate of around 300,000 Brazilians arrived to occupy the border area, where the State lacked total control. Given the conditions of land commercialization, the Paraguayan society showed reticence towards the neo-colonizers, which provoked revolts, looting, protests and claims to the State for the recovery of the lands, which had historically belonged to them. With the arrival of the 21st century, the confrontations against the brasiguayos have intensified.