In the money meat - The Tri Border Area in South America

Abstract

Analysts estimate that up to half of all automobiles in Paraguay were stolen in Brazil (Hanratty, 1990). And surely, they came from the TBA. The Tri-Border Area (TBA) in composed by Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil; Ciudad del Este, Paraguay and Puerto Iguassu, Argentina. Although considered as one single region, the three cities are governed by different institutions, and thus have different regulations, different economies and different recent histories. Consequently, they are very different cities within one single region. Between the 70s and 80s, with the construction of Itaipu Dam, population exploded. Chinese, Taiwanese and Arab migration grew Paraguay’s population and facilitated the trade between Asia and South America. Paraguay has consolidated itself as the gateway for Chinese good in Brazil. The lack of market regulation and basic government enforcement in Paraguay also brought criminal activities to the region: drugs and guns dealing, human and animals trafficking, mafias, and others.