Palotina
Palotina is a Brazilian municipality in western Paraná state, located around 60 kilometers from the border with Paraguay. Location The population is 32,121 inhabitants, as of the 2020 estimate. Owing to highly fertile land, the city is a flourishing agricultural hub and a base for two major agricultural companies: C. Vale and I. Rieddi. Another highlight of Palotina is the campus of the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). There is also one private university, the UESPAR (União de Ensino Superior do Paraná). The municipality contains the São Camilo State Park, a conservation unit originally created as a biological reserve in 1990. History Settlement in the area started in 1953 when Pinho e Terras started to colonize the area. The settlement began to grow and on July 25, 1960 attained the status of municipality. Pinho e Terras approach to colonization was called exemplary, but in the early 1960s the colonists were besieged by gunmen hired by the "new landowners" affiliated with state governor and Socialist Democratic Party boss Moises Lupion. The federal government moved in a regiment of border guards to pacify the area and in 1963 re-nationalized the disputed lands. The colonists had to buy back their own land. The