Itaipu

Fernando Lugo, new Paraguayan president (Antônio Cruz, ABr)

The victory by Fernando Lugo last Sunday in Paraguay´s presidential elections has sent ripples through the energy ministries of Brazil and Argentina, based upon his assertion that the Itaipu and Yacyretá Dam treaties must be re-negotiated to guarantee a fair deal for his country.

Sete Quedas Waterfall flooded by Itaipu reservoir (archive)

25 years ago, in October 1982, the planet´s greatest waterfall was drowned, a victim of the filling of Itaipu Reservoir (Brazil/Paraguay). The so-called "Seven Falls of Guaíra", or "Sete Quedas", in reality a series of 18 waterfalls, were at 114 meters in height not the world´s tallest falls, but they were easily the most powerful in volume, with more than double the flow of Niagara Falls and 12 times the flow over Victoria Falls.