The Case of the Aché

This chapter provides an update of some of the issues and implications of the Ache genocide debate. Developmental genocide means destroying a people by destroying their livelihoods and means of production. The real probability of progress on the the Ache genocide case remains a major question mark though the case has been gaining ground recently. Time will reveal whether local indigenous peoples&s; rights activists in Paraguay will have an impact. The treatment of the Ache Indians of eastern Paraguay illustrates a number of issues surrounding the debates over genocides of indigenous peoples. The findings of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues mission to Paraguay were that forced servitude and mistreatment of indigenous people persist in the Chaco. The Ache genocide, while often cited as an important case at the international level, has largely been overlooked in Paraguay itself except by academics, church organizations, indigenous rights groups, and the media.