Ciudad del Este (Spanish for City of the East) initialed CDE is the second largest city in Paraguay and capital of the Alto Paraná Department, situated on the Paraná River. Its population is at 294,000. The city consists of a large population of Lebanese immigrants, as well as Taiwanese. The city annually attracts thousands of tourists for Black Friday. On a daily basis, many tourists from Brazil cross the border to enter Ciudad del Este and the city also attracts thousands of worldwide tourists. The city is home to Club Atlético 3 de Febrero, whose home ground Estadio Antonio Aranda was used for the 1999 Copa América, and is Paraguay’s third biggest football stadium.
Ciudad del Este has a humid subtropical climate. Summer is hot and humid, with an average of 26 °C (79 °F) in January. The high humidity usually becomes suffocating in the heat. Winter is temperate and irregular, as there are days of intense cold 0 °C (32 °F) and even hot 30 °C (86 °F). The average daily temperature is 16 °C (61 °F) in July.
Ciudad del Este has repeatedly been on the list of notorious markets for infringing goods by the United States Trade Representative. The city is the headquarters of the company that operates the nearby Itaipu Dam. The city’s economy (and Paraguay’s economy as well) relies heavily on the mood of the Brazilian economy, as 95% of Paraguay’s share of the energy generated by the Itaipu Dam is sold to Brazil (for US$300 million), and that every day many Brazilians cross the border to buy less expensive products (US$1.2 billion, mostly electronics). Smuggling is a major occupation in the city, with some estimates putting the value of this black market at five times the national economy. Some military and intelligence agencies state that there are terrorist organizations in the area, no evidence of this has been found. Guarani International Airport, located in the suburb city of Minga Guazú, connects the city with other South American destinations.
