Horqueta

Horqueta
Coordinates: 23 ° 21 ′  S , 57 ° 3 ′  W Horqueta​ Horqueta on the map of Paraguay
Basic data
Country	Paraguay
Department	Concepción
City foundation	May 10, 1793
Residents	60,690  (2018)
Detailed data
surface	2889 km 2
Population density	21 people / km 2
height	127  m
Post Code	8820
Horqueta is the name of the sweet herb capital

Horqueta is a city and district in the Department of Concepción in central Paraguay . It has about 60,700 inhabitants. The place name means fork in the road . Horqueta is located on a hill about 50 kilometers east of Concepción and 428 km from Asunción .

history

The city was founded on May 10, 1793 and began its origins with a chapel.

economy

It is mainly used for agriculture and animal husbandry. Horqueta describes itself as the capital of Stevia rebaudiana - sweet herb, honey herb that originally comes from Paraguay. Other products are: cruciform milkweed , cotton, beans, cassava, corn, fruit. Leather goods are also produced. Economic development is currently stalled by two guerrilla groups that are being fought in the vicinity by the Paraguayan armed forces.

Guerrilla groups

The EPP (Ejército del Pueblo Paraguayo - Paraguayan People's Army ) is one of the youngest rebel groups in South America. It was formed in 2008, but its origins began in 1992 shortly after the introduction of democracy in 1990 after the fall of Alfredo Stroessner . It consists of only about 30 fighters and operates mainly in the Horqueta district and the surrounding area. It has a Marxist-Leninist ideology and wants to abolish the bourgeois-liberal parliamentary system in order to replace it with a regime of people's congresses. It generates income through kidnappings, assaults and extortion, the latter mainly from the marijuana producers in the area. The government does not recognize the group as insurgents, but regards them as a criminal organization. Until President Horacio Cartes took office in 2013, only the police were responsible for combating this group. Due to the high level of corruption in these ranks, the successes were very low. Cartes had the law reformed in parliament to allow the use of national armed forces. He created the FTC (Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta). In 2014 some of the rebels split off from the EPP and founded the ACA (Asociación Campesina Armada). In January 2015, their leader Albino Lara was shot dead by the armed forces in Horqueta.

climate

Temperatures rise to 40 ° C in summer and can drop to −2 ° C in winter. The annual average temperature is 20 ° C. The rainy season runs from November to January, the driest months are June to September.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Datos de Horqueta municipalidadhorqueta.gov.py , 2018, accessed November 16, 2018.
2. ↑ Reseña Histórica de la Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni ecodesarrollopy.com , accessed on November 16, 2018.
3. ↑ Horqueta y Arroyito se ven limitadas en desarrollo por culpa del EPP y la ACA lanacion.com.py , April 15, 2018, accessed on November 16, 2018.
4. ↑ Jeremy McDermott: Ejército del Pueblo Paraguayo, ¿un nuevo grupo insurgente o simple bandidos? (PDF) January 2015, accessed on November 17, 2018.
5. ↑ Muere líder de grupo rebelde paraguayo BBC.com , January 7, 2015, accessed November 17, 2018.