This introductory chapter provides an overview of the economic, social and administrative context for public governance reform in Paraguay. It places the country’s reform efforts in the context of a history marked by a long dictatorship and a democratization process that only started in 1989. Through this contextualisation, the chapter aims to provide the basis for an understanding of the most pressing public governance challenges the country is facing. It finds that Paraguay’s strong macroeconomic performance, improving socio-economic indicators as well as the ambitious National Development Plan provide a major opportunity for reforms, but also flags that low levels of citizen trust and inequalities as well as a lack of inclusiveness remain key challenges that need to be addressed through a public governance reform agenda that is integrated into the development strategy to foster inclusive growth.