On the Border

A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy?

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March 27th 2006
Before we arrived in Ciudad del Este, my perception of the town, based on everything I had heard about it, was that it was, in the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi, a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Actually it is just another city, not unlike many other cities in the world. The crime rate may be the highest in Paraguay, but then Paraguay is not exactly overrun with criminal activity (at least not the ... read more

South America » Paraguay » Ciudad del Este

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In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70), Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. It stagnated economically for the next half century. In the Chaco War of 1932-35, large, economically important areas were ... ... read more