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Landlocked in South America and a Spanish possession until 1811, Paraguay gained large tracts of land from Bolivia in 1938. Periods of anarchy and military rule followed until the overthrow in 1989 of Gen. Alfredo Stroessner, South America's longest-ruling dictator. The Paraguay River divides the eastern hills and fertile plains, where 90% of people live, from the almost uninhabited Chaco in the west. Paraguay's economy is largely agricultural.