Introduction:

Hydraulic drought events in the Guantánamo province have intensified, affecting the available water resources and, therefore, the development of the main economic activities in the region, among which agriculture stands out.

Objective:

To evaluate the behavior of hydraulic drought in the urban and peri-urban limits of the Paraguay settlement, as well as its effects on the sustainability of agricultural development.

Methods:

They were used theoretical and empirical methods combined, analyzing background information and the digital cartographic database of Guantánamo at a scale of 1:250,000 prepared by the National Institute of Territorial Planning and Urbanism. It was applied the Hydraulic Drought Index to demonstrate the situation of the study area through the analysis of a 60-year time series.

Results:

They were identified six hydraulic drought events and they were characterized with categories from moderate to extreme, which generated water deficit with direct impacts on livestock, sugarcane cultivation, various crops and the water supply of urban and peri-urban areas in the Paraguay settlement.

Conclusions:

For the evaluation of the effects of hydraulic drought on the sustainability of agricultural development, a system of 10 sustainability indicators is proposed, demonstrating that this activity is not sustainable in Paraguay, requiring the execution of a development strategy that involves the environmental, economic and social dimensions.

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