The creation of the “mestizo family model”: The example of Paraguay

Abstract

Though the family in Latin America is normally included under the rubric of “Western,” its most important divergent features are the high percentage of illegitimate children and female-headed households. This phenomenon can be traced back to the early colonial period, and it is especially strong in the population of mixed ethnic background. For this reason, this configuration has been called the “mestizo family model”, but the developments that led to it still need analysis. This essay focuses on the dynamics of ethnic mixture and family structure in Paraguay during the first decades of colonial rule, and discusses social and economic background as well as the influence of indigenous and Christian models on the formation of the “mestizo family model.” One deduction is that the transition from matri- to patrilineality was not initiated but only accelerated by colonial rule. The high number of mother-centered families after the conquest, on the other hand, is substantially different from the former Guaraní matrifocality because of different socio-economic conditions, mainly the current predominantly patriarchal character of the society.