HISTORICAL RELATIONS BETWEEN BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY: NEGOTIATIONS AND QUARRELS BEHIND ITAIPU DAM

Abstract

In the context of Brazil-Paraguay historical relations, the construction of the Itaipu hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River – in the border between the two countries – was one of the most important initiatives (in political, economic and energy terms). The events between Brazil and Paraguay involving the Itaipu project are part of South America's geopolitics. In this sense, the present article will focuses the negotiations that preceded and continued throughout the construction of the plant and the treaties and main events and agreements that established the criteria for the operation of the hydroelectric power plant. The Itaipu Treaty, signed in 1973, provides for the revision of financial clauses by 2023. The present work aims to examine the relations between Brazil and Paraguay throughout history and analyze the impacts of the Itaipu Dam on these relationships. This article is a qualitative research, from the perspective of International Relations and Political Geography, enriched with cartography created by the authors with Arc GIS software.