16 physicians determined there was nothing that could be done in their cases. Moreover, according to the next of kin of the dead people, they received humiliating treatment. Likewise, it was determined from the account of the mothers that several children died from tetanus, measles and diarrhea. The members of the Community have lived for many years in absolute precariousness. The State is absent; there are no representatives of police, court or welfare authorities, such as health care authorities. i. Statement by Mr. José Marcelo Brunstein-Alegre, expert witness The territorial claims of the indigenous communities populating the Paraguayan Chaco have unleashed a conflict of interests with the current owners, who are mostly cattle farmers. The latter have resisted possible condemnations for the purpose of favoring the territorial claims stating arguments aimed at justifying the advancement of societies, openly alluding to the risk of their properties being expropriated and title to them subsequently conveyed to indigenous communities “whose way of lifes are based on hunting and gathering.” They argued that to reproduce that way of life in current times would not only require an enormous amount of lands, but it would also prevent the members of indigenous communities from “evolving” and enjoying “the benefits of civilization.” The other argument supposedly involves an economic consideration in that it states that the territorial claims by indigenous peoples causes severe harm both to the livestock industry and to the investment and re-investment process. Paraguay stands out from the other countries in the region for the high proportion of population still living in rural areas. These, in turn, concentrate most of the poor population of the country. Thus, recent data suggest that Paraguay currently stands as the most unequal society in the region. Inequality is evident in the national agrarian structure reflected in the distribution of lands. Several studies have led to dramatic findings as regards to land holding in Paraguay. Cattle farming uses approximately twenty-two million hectares, while agriculture uses next to seven million hectares. The extensive production system predominating among the cattle farming establishments in Paraguay is the main cause of the faulty distribution of lands in the country. A clear example is to be found in that the cattle farming industry accounted for only 1.5% of the farming establishments in 1991, but they used almost 80% of the productive lands. The high proportion of lands with natural pastures and forests suggests that cattle farming is by far the most important economic activity in connection with the use of productive resources in the Chaco region. In an inequality environment, it is hard to find a logical reason that justifies this land ownership structure. Firstly, the comparison of the amount of resources used by the cattle farming establishments with their contribution to the national economy is an initial indicator of how inefficient they are. Even though agriculture uses only one third of the land owned by the cattle farmers, this activity is three times as large as that of cattle farming with regard to its share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and has a much larger share in total exports. A study performed in Paraguay found a clear inverse relation between land productivity and the size of the estates.