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Some of the positives that come easily to mind: 
  -  A slow pace of life
  -  A friendly and welcoming society and population
  -  A lack of government involvment in people's lives or affairs
  -  A low cost of living, abiity to live a much simpler life than in Europe or N. America
  -  A low crime rate overall expecially violent crime (one exception explained shortly) 
  -  An easy residency process you can handle yourself basically without lawyers or "helpers"
  -  And basically no personal taxes on income (foreign or domestic).   

But with all good you have to understand the "bad"…which is as follows: 
  -  A very closed economic system not supportive of foreign investment or involvement in the local economy, 
  -  A very corrupt and inefficient government (which can also be a positive..sometimes)
  -  A distinct lack of any kind of social safety net
  -  A legal system that stacks the deck against foreigners in many cases
  -  A minor but never ending insurgency/narco gang problem in the northeastern part of the country.  This makes it more or less a "no go" area for foreigners or those with money and this is the only real "crime issue" of consequence for expats
  -   A serious lack of employment opportunites for expats unless you work online or want very low paying jobs like teaching english.
-   Insane drivers making driving more or less a "contact sport"

My two cents only, probably many other "positives and negatives" could be added by others.

Hello!

Thank you for this great summary of pros and cons.
I was born and live in Spain and would like to apply for permanent residency in Paraguay. Even if I speak perfect Spanish I would like to have someone help me in the application process, is it really unnecessary? is it expensive to have a lawyer do everything for us?
I have a few doubts that maybe you can help me with.
We are a couple with 2 small kids (1 and 8 years old)
Can my husband travel to Paraguay and do all the paper work for the whole family (with a power of attourney, maybe) or must we all go to Paraguay together?
Do we have to travel to Paraguay more than once during the residency process?
Is it easy and deprived of obstacles to do the whole process without a lawyer's help?
I appreciate your reply.

pro: babes walking around in hot pants because it's so frickin' hot
con: it' so frickin' hot