The currency of Paraguay turns 80 years old and is one of the oldest in America

The money of Paraguaythe Guaraní, celebrates this Thursday 80 years of creation, with the challenge of maintaining the strength that positions it as one of the oldest in America.

“That the guaraní turns 80 years old is, on the one hand, a reflection of the responsible management of monetary policy, but, on the other hand, it also reveals the confidence of economic agents in the currency,” explained, in a questionnaire sent to EFE, the technical team of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP).

This monetary sign is the product of a reform promoted in 1941 by the then head of the Bank of the Republic of Paraguay, Carlos Pedretti, the Minister of Finance at the time, Rogelio Espinoza, and the US Federal Reserve expert Robert Triffin, says Sixto Morínigo in the document “Guarani, 70 years of stability. A Conquest of Society”.

According to that text, on October 5, 1943, the “Organic Monetary Regime of the Republic of Paraguay.”

The reform that gave life to Guaraní, Morínigo points out, sought to respond to the need for “clean up the complex monetary system” local that depended on the contingencies of the Argentine economy.

After this time, the guaraní is one of the most stable currencies in the region. BCP experts highlight that between 2004 and 2023, deposits in local currency grew at an average interannual rate of 17%in the face of the increase in 12% that those of foreign currencies experienced.

In the last two decades – they add – the stability of the Guaraní “has been key to achieving sustained economic growth, which is located around 3.7% annually, while investment has grown on average by 4.7% annually in the same period.”

Looking to the future, they see Guaraní as the main challenge “continue to persist in its dynamic of being a strong, credible and predictable monetary sign.”

History

According to BCP data, after its creation, the first bills of this currency that circulated were strong pesos re-stamped with the denomination “Guarani”.

It was not until September 8, 1944 when a first family of seven banknotes was presented, with the denominations of 1,5,10,50, 100, 500 and 1,000 guaraníes. The paper had different sizes, depending on its value.

A new family of banknotes came into force on August 15, 1963. The denominations of 5,000 and 10,000 guaraníes were introduced and the size of the paper money was unified. By then the Central Bank had already been created, on March 25, 1952.

Since then, this currency has been adjusted to different times. For example, in 1976, the conversion of low denomination bills (1.5 and 10) into currency was agreed.

In 1979, the Guaraní language – which, along with Spanish, is the official language in Paraguay – was included on the back of the 5,000 banknotes.

In 1990 and 1998, respectively, the 50,000 and 100,000 banknotes were released, and in 2002 a geometric relief was incorporated for each monetary value that allows its identification by people with visual disabilities.

Currently, the monetary cone of the guaraní is made up of bills of 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000, as well as coins of 50, 100, 500 and 1,000.