Brasiguayos
Brasiguayos (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Paraguay | 400,000 |
| Brazil | 60,000 |
| Languages | |
| Portuñol (mixed Spanish-Portuguese) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (mainly Roman Catholicism) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| White Brazilians · White Paraguayans | |
The term brasiguaio (Portuguese) or brasiguayo (Spanish) is associated to individuals holding ties with Brazil and Paraguay. It is commonly used by members within and outside this group when referring to Brazilian migrants in Paraguay and their descendants, as well as Paraguayans immigrants in Brazil and their descendants, including those who moved back to Paraguay after a long time. In Paraguay, it is attributed to Brazilians and their descendants living in the Southeastern Paraguayan departments of Canindeyú and Alto Paraná, which border with Brazil. Most of them emigrated from Brazil in the 1960s stimulated by the Paraguayan government seeking to develop its bordering region with Brazil through agricultural production.
As of 2001, there are about 455,000 Brasiguaios as of 2001 living in Paraguay, or about one-tenth of Paraguay's population.
In some border zones, Brasiguayos and their descendants are more than 90% of the population and Portuguese is widely spoken. In San Alberto de Mbaracayú city, approximately 80% of its 23,000 inhabitants are of Brazilian ancestry. The origins of Brasiguaios are said to be mostly from the three states of the South Region of Brazil in proximity to Paraguay, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. Most Brasiguayos are ethnically White and of German, Italian and Polish descent.