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Soy Bean Gold Rush

Soy plantation owners Adiemier and Lena Rigley show documents from when their plantation was invaded by squatters. Image by Carlos Bitta. Paraguay, 2007.

Paraguay is the world's fastest growing producer of soy beans. But the boom has been bad for native peasants. They lived for years on forestland that belonged to no one — logging and growing food for their families.

About ten years ago, the government either gave away or illegally sold the land to political friends in the soybean business. The soy farmers moved in, pushing the peasants out. It's a tense situation, with peasants squatting next to the soy plantations and hoping the next presidential election will bring them some relief.