During the Revolt of Comuneros of 1720s and 1730s, Paraguayan settlers rebelled against Jesuit privileges and the government that protected them. The Comunero Revolt was in many ways a rehearsal for the radical events that would begin with independence in 1811.
During the Revolt of Comuneros of 1720s and 1730s, Paraguayan settlers rebelled against Jesuit privileges and the government that protected them. The Comunero Revolt was in many ways a rehearsal for the radical events that would begin with independence in 1811.
In a move to gain control of the wealth of the reducciones, the Spanish king Charles III of Spain (1759–88) expelled the Jesuits in 1767 and expropriated their properties. Within a few decades of the expulsion most of what Jesuits had accomplished was lost.
In 1776, the crown created the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata; Paraguay, which had been subordinate to Lima, now became a provincial outpost of Buenos Aires.
Espínola's reception in Asunción was less than cordial, partly because he was closely linked to the ex-governor Lázaro de Rivera, who had arbitrarily executed hundreds of citizens until he was forced from office in 1805.
British invasions of the River Plate of 1806–7 were repulsed by the local colonial troops and volunteer militias without help from Spain. Among the many causes of the May Revolution were Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808, the capture of the Spanish king, Ferdinand VII, and Napoleon's attempt to put his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne, which severed the major remaining links between the metropolis and the colonies as Joseph had no supporters in Spanish America.
British invasions of the River Plate of 1806–7 were repulsed by the local colonial troops and volunteer militias without help from Spain. Among the many causes of the May Revolution were Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808, the capture of the Spanish king, Ferdinand VII, and Napoleon's attempt to put his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne, which severed the major remaining links between the metropolis and the colonies as Joseph had no supporters in Spanish America.
The Buenos Aires open cabildo deposed the Spanish viceroy on 25 May 1810, vowing to rule in the name of Ferdinand VII.
Paraguay celebrates Independence Day on 15 May, from 1811 to now. William E.
During the Revolt of Comuneros of 1720s and 1730s, Paraguayan settlers rebelled against Jesuit privileges and the government that protected them. The Comunero Revolt was in many ways a rehearsal for the radical events that would begin with independence in 1811.
The result was dire poverty in Paraguay and an increasingly impoverished empire. ==Independence of 1811== The French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the subsequent wars in Europe weakened Spain's ability to maintain contact with and defend and control its colonies.
This move ignited a military uprising in Asunción on 14 May 1811 and formation of a power-sharing junta.
There was no distinction between the public and the private sphere, and the López family ruled the country as it would a large estate. ===Francia, 1814–40=== José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia served from 1811 until his death in 1840 and built a strong, prosperous, secure nation at a time when Paraguay's continued existence as an independent country seemed unlikely. Paraguay at independence was a relatively undeveloped country.
Under Francia, Paraguay underwent a social upheaval that destroyed the old colonial elites. After the military uprising of 14–15 May 1811, which brought independence, Francia became a member of the ruling junta.
By outwitting porteño diplomats in the negotiations that produced the Treaty of 11 October 1811, in which Argentina implicitly recognized Paraguayan independence in return for vague promises of a military alliance, Francia proved that he possessed skills crucial to the future of the country. Francia consolidated his power by convincing Paraguayans that he was indispensable.
By the end of 1811, dissatisfied with the political role that military officers were playing, he resigned from the junta.
Francia arrested almost 200 prominent Paraguayans among whom were all the leading figures of the 1811 independence movement, and executed most of them.
The new law served only to increase the slave population and depress slave prices as the slave birth rates soared. ====Foreign relations==== Despite being de facto independent since 1811 and having proclaimed a Republic in 1813, Paraguay formally declared independence only on 25 November 1842 and in 1844 adopted a new Constitution that replaced the Constitution of 1813.
The porteño government also asked for Paraguayan military assistance in its First Banda Oriental campaign. When Paraguayan junta learned that a porteño diplomat was coming to Asunción, it realized that it was not competent to negotiate and in November 1812, junta members invited Francia to take charge of foreign policy.
When the Argentine envoy, Nicolás de Herrera arrived in May 1813, he was told that all important decisions had to wait for the meeting of a Paraguayan Congress in late September.
Under virtual [arrest], Herrera had little scope to build support for unification, even though he resorted to bribery. The Second National Congress was held from 30 September until 12 October 1813.
Congress rejected a proposal for Paraguayan participation at a constitutional congress at Buenos Aires and approved the new Constitution on 12 October 1813 when Paraguayan Republic was officially proclaimed (the first in South America).
The new law served only to increase the slave population and depress slave prices as the slave birth rates soared. ====Foreign relations==== Despite being de facto independent since 1811 and having proclaimed a Republic in 1813, Paraguay formally declared independence only on 25 November 1842 and in 1844 adopted a new Constitution that replaced the Constitution of 1813.
On 17 May a public proclamation informed people that a ruling junta, consisting of Governor Velasco, Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia and Army captain Juan Valeriano de Zeballos, had been created. ==Historical flags of Paraguay== ==Era of dictatorships (1814–1870)== After the first revolutionary years, Congress in 1814 elected José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia to be the supreme dictator (Supremo) of Paraguay.
There was no distinction between the public and the private sphere, and the López family ruled the country as it would a large estate. ===Francia, 1814–40=== José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia served from 1811 until his death in 1840 and built a strong, prosperous, secure nation at a time when Paraguay's continued existence as an independent country seemed unlikely. Paraguay at independence was a relatively undeveloped country.
Yegros, a man without political ambitions, represented the nationalist criollo military elite, while Francia was more powerful of the two because he derived his strength from the nationalist masses. The Third National Congress was held on 3–4 October 1814 and replaced the two-man consulate with a single-man dictatorship, to which Franzia was elected. ====El Supremo Dictador==== Francia detested the political culture of the old regime and considered himself a revolutionary.
He sent political prisoners, numbering approximately 400 in any given year, to a detention camp where they were shackled in dungeons and denied medical care and even the use of sanitary facilities. In 1820, four years after the Congress had named Francia dictator for life with the title Supremo Dictator Perpetuo de la Republica del Paraguay (Supreme Dictator in Perpetuity), Francia's security system uncovered and quickly crushed a plot by the élite to assassinate El Supremo.
In 1821 Francia struck against the Spanish-born elite, summoning all of Paraguay's 300 or so peninsulares to Asunción's main square, where he accused them of treason, had them arrested, and held them in jail for 18 months.
Regarding Argentina as a potential threat to Paraguay, he shifted his foreign policy toward Brazil by quickly recognizing Brazilian independence in 1822.
In 1824 Francia banned all religious orders, closed the only seminary, "secularized" monks and priests by forcing them to swear loyalty to the state, abolished the fuero eclesiástico (the privilege of clerical immunity from civil courts), confiscated Church property, and subordinated its finances to state control. The common people benefited from the suppression of the traditional elites and from the expansion of the state.
In contrast to other states in the region, Paraguay was efficiently and honestly administered, stable, and secure (by 1827 army grew to 5000 men with 20 000 in reserve).
At the same time, a Paraguay that was antagonistic to both Brazil and Argentina would give these countries a reason for uniting. ===Francisco Solano López, 1862–70=== Born in 1827, Francisco Solano López became the second and final ruler of the López dynasty.
There was no distinction between the public and the private sphere, and the López family ruled the country as it would a large estate. ===Francia, 1814–40=== José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia served from 1811 until his death in 1840 and built a strong, prosperous, secure nation at a time when Paraguay's continued existence as an independent country seemed unlikely. Paraguay at independence was a relatively undeveloped country.
All of Paraguay's accomplishments during this period, including its existence as a nation, were attributed almost entirely to Francia. ===Carlos Antonio López, 1841–62=== After Francia's death on 20 September 1840, a political confusion erupted, because El Supremo, now El Difunto (the Dead One), had left no successor.
Under López, Paraguay's population increased from about 220,000 in 1840 to about 400,000 in 1860. During his term of office, López improved national defense, abolished the remnants of the reducciones, stimulated economic development, and tried to strengthen relations with foreign countries.
All of Paraguay's accomplishments during this period, including its existence as a nation, were attributed almost entirely to Francia. ===Carlos Antonio López, 1841–62=== After Francia's death on 20 September 1840, a political confusion erupted, because El Supremo, now El Difunto (the Dead One), had left no successor.
On 22 January 1841, Ortiz was overthrown by Juan José Medina who in turn was overthrown on 9 February in a coup led by Mariano Roque Alonzo. Alonzo lacked authority to rule, and on 14 March 1841, the two-man consulate of early Independence era was recreated.
López did not free these slaves; instead, he enacted the 1842 Law of the Free Womb, which ended the slave trade and guaranteed that the children of slaves would be free at age twenty-five.
The new law served only to increase the slave population and depress slave prices as the slave birth rates soared. ====Foreign relations==== Despite being de facto independent since 1811 and having proclaimed a Republic in 1813, Paraguay formally declared independence only on 25 November 1842 and in 1844 adopted a new Constitution that replaced the Constitution of 1813.
This Second Consulate lasted until 13 March 1844, when Congress named Lopez the President of the Republic, a post he held until his death in 1862. While maintaining a strong political and economic grip on the country, and despite all his shortcomings, Lopez worked towards strengthening Paraguay's independence. López, a lawyer, was one of the most educated men in the country.
Congress became his puppet, and the people abdicated their political rights, a situation enshrined in the 1844 Constitution, which placed all power in López's hands. ====Slavery==== Slavery had existed in Paraguay since early colonial days.
The new law served only to increase the slave population and depress slave prices as the slave birth rates soared. ====Foreign relations==== Despite being de facto independent since 1811 and having proclaimed a Republic in 1813, Paraguay formally declared independence only on 25 November 1842 and in 1844 adopted a new Constitution that replaced the Constitution of 1813.
Using the slogan "Independence or Death", López declared war against Rosas in 1845 to support what was ultimately an unsuccessful rebellion in the Argentine province of Corrientes.
Although Britain and France prevented him from moving against Paraguay, Rosas established a trade embargo on Paraguayan goods. After Rosas fell in 1852, López signed a treaty with Buenos Aires that recognized Paraguay's independence, although the porteños never ratified it.
In 1853 he sent his son Francisco Solano to Europe to buy guns.
On 1 October 1853, the US warship arrived on a visit in Asunción. Nonetheless, growing tensions with several countries, including the United States, characterized the second half of López's rule.
His 1853 trip to Europe to buy arms was probably the most important experience of his life.
A British firm began building a railroad from Asunción to Paraguarí, one of South America's first, in 1858.
In 1858 the United States sent a flotilla to Paraguayan waters in a successful action to claim compensation for an American sailor who had been killed three years earlier when USS Water Witch had entered Paraguayan waters despite prohibition from Lopez. López had recklessly dropped his policy of neutrality without determining where his allegiances lay.
Under López, Paraguay's population increased from about 220,000 in 1840 to about 400,000 in 1860. During his term of office, López improved national defense, abolished the remnants of the reducciones, stimulated economic development, and tried to strengthen relations with foreign countries.
On 22 September 1861, the Central railway station was opened in Asunción.
This Second Consulate lasted until 13 March 1844, when Congress named Lopez the President of the Republic, a post he held until his death in 1862. While maintaining a strong political and economic grip on the country, and despite all his shortcomings, Lopez worked towards strengthening Paraguay's independence. López, a lawyer, was one of the most educated men in the country.
At the same time, a Paraguay that was antagonistic to both Brazil and Argentina would give these countries a reason for uniting. ===Francisco Solano López, 1862–70=== Born in 1827, Francisco Solano López became the second and final ruler of the López dynasty.
After his father's death the Paraguayan Congress elected him President on 16 October 1862.
Solano López consolidated his power after his father's death in 1862 by silencing several hundred critics and would-be reformers through imprisonment. The government continued to exert control on all exports.
Since the 1930s, Paraguayans have regarded Solano López as the nation's foremost hero. ==The Paraguayan War== Solano López accurately assessed the September 1864 Brazilian intervention in Uruguay as a threat not only to Uruguay but to Paraguay as well.
Consistent with his plans to start a Paraguayan "third force" between Argentina and Brazil, Solano López committed the nation to Uruguay's aid. In early 1864 López warned Brazil against intervening in Uruguay's internal conflict.
Despite it, Brazil invaded Uruguay in October, 1864.
On 12 November 1864 Lopez ordered the seizure of a Brazilian warship in the Paraguayan territorial waters.
Since then, the country has had a history of dictatorial governments, from the Utopian regime of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (El Supremo) to the suicidal reign of Francisco Solano López, who nearly destroyed the country in warfare against the combined forces of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay from 1865 through 1870.
Paraguay lacked the industrial base to replace weapons lost in battle, and the Argentine-Brazilian alliance prevented Solano López from receiving arms from abroad. Paraguay's population was only about 450,000 in 1865, a figure lower than the number of people in the Brazilian National Guard, and completely dwarfed by the Allied population of 11 million.
The core units of the Paraguayan army reached Corrientes in April 1865.
By 1867, Paraguay had lost 60,000 men to casualties, disease, or capture, and another 60,000 soldiers – slaves and children – were called to duty. After October 1865 López changed his war plans from offensive to defensive.
On 22 September 1866, at the Battle of Curupayty, Paraguayans inflicted a great defeat on the Allied army and until November 1867 there was a relative lull in the fighting. In February 1868 two Brazilian warships sailed up the River Paraguay and caused a panic in Asunción.
By 1867, Paraguay had lost 60,000 men to casualties, disease, or capture, and another 60,000 soldiers – slaves and children – were called to duty. After October 1865 López changed his war plans from offensive to defensive.
On 22 September 1866, at the Battle of Curupayty, Paraguayans inflicted a great defeat on the Allied army and until November 1867 there was a relative lull in the fighting. In February 1868 two Brazilian warships sailed up the River Paraguay and caused a panic in Asunción.
On 22 September 1866, at the Battle of Curupayty, Paraguayans inflicted a great defeat on the Allied army and until November 1867 there was a relative lull in the fighting. In February 1868 two Brazilian warships sailed up the River Paraguay and caused a panic in Asunción.
McMahon. By the end of 1868, the Paraguayan army had shrunk to a few thousand soldiers (many of them children and women) who exhibited suicidal bravery.
"Conquer or die" became the order of the day. During December, the Allies continued to destroy the remaining resistance and on 1 January 1869, they entered Asunción.
Destitute and practically destroyed, Paraguay had to endure a lengthy occupation by foreign troops and cede large patches of territory to Brazil and Argentina. ==Under occupation, 1870–76== The allied occupation of Asunción in 1869 put the victors in direct control of Paraguayan affairs.
This group set up a provisional government in 1869, mainly under Brazilian auspices, and signed the 1870 peace accords, which guaranteed Paraguay's independence and free river navigation.
Ferreira then served as President between 1906 and 1908. ===Provisional government, 1869–70=== With Solano López on the run, the country lacked a government.
Pedro II sent his Foreign minister José Paranhos to Asunción where he arrived on 20 February 1869, and began consultations with the local politicians.
The political rivalry between future Liberals and Colorados started already in 1869 before the war was over, when the terms Azules (Blues) and Colorados (Reds) first appeared. ===Factions=== The remaining López loyalists gathered around Cándido Bareiro who, on 31 March 1869, founded the Republican Union Club which in early 1870 became the Club del Pueblo and after 17 February 1878, Club Libertad and who published their newspaper La Voz del Pueblo.
The Bareiro faction was also known as lopiztas because of their loyalty to the memory of President López and it was opposed to the Decoud faction who had established their rival Club del Pueblo (after 23 March 1870, the Gran Club del Pueblo). On 26 June 1869, the Decoud faction established their Club del Pueblo, led by Facundo Machaín, and on 1 October 1869, they started publishing the newspaper La Regeneración.
Since then, the country has had a history of dictatorial governments, from the Utopian regime of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (El Supremo) to the suicidal reign of Francisco Solano López, who nearly destroyed the country in warfare against the combined forces of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay from 1865 through 1870.
From 1932 to 1935 there were approximately 30,000 Paraguayan and 65,000 Bolivian casualties in the war. From 1870 to 1954, Paraguay was ruled by 44 different men, 24 of whom were forced from office in military coups.
She buried Solano López with her own hands after the last battle in 1870 and died penniless some years later in Europe. Observers sharply disagreed about Solano López.
Destitute and practically destroyed, Paraguay had to endure a lengthy occupation by foreign troops and cede large patches of territory to Brazil and Argentina. ==Under occupation, 1870–76== The allied occupation of Asunción in 1869 put the victors in direct control of Paraguayan affairs.
Sharp disagreements between the two powers prolonged the Allied occupation until 1876. Ruined by war, pestilence, famine, and unpaid foreign indemnities, Paraguay was on the verge of disintegration in 1870.
This group set up a provisional government in 1869, mainly under Brazilian auspices, and signed the 1870 peace accords, which guaranteed Paraguay's independence and free river navigation.
The 1870 constitution quickly became irrelevant.
In May 1870 José Díaz de Bedoya resigned and on 31 August 1870, Carlos Loizaga also resigned.
He assumed the post on 31 August 1870, but was overthrown the next day in a coup which restored Rivarola to power. ===Post-war political conflicts=== The politics of the first post-war decade were heavily influenced by deeply personal conflicts between López loyalists and their more liberal opponents, but just as important was the backing of various politicians by Argentina and Brazil.
The political rivalry between future Liberals and Colorados started already in 1869 before the war was over, when the terms Azules (Blues) and Colorados (Reds) first appeared. ===Factions=== The remaining López loyalists gathered around Cándido Bareiro who, on 31 March 1869, founded the Republican Union Club which in early 1870 became the Club del Pueblo and after 17 February 1878, Club Libertad and who published their newspaper La Voz del Pueblo.
The Bareiro faction was also known as lopiztas because of their loyalty to the memory of President López and it was opposed to the Decoud faction who had established their rival Club del Pueblo (after 23 March 1870, the Gran Club del Pueblo). On 26 June 1869, the Decoud faction established their Club del Pueblo, led by Facundo Machaín, and on 1 October 1869, they started publishing the newspaper La Regeneración.
This proposal split the Liberal party leadership, many of whom supported this idea, and on 18 February 1940 he established a temporary dictatorship, dismissing the 1870 Constitution and promising a new Constitution. On 10 July the project of the new Constitution was published and on 4 August 1940, approved in the referendum.
In the end the Brazilian-supported politicians won, and established the rule of the Colorado party. After Cirilo Antonio Rivarola was forced to resign from the presidency in December 1871, Salvador Jovellanos come to power, backed by General Benigno Ferreira.
Jovellanos was an accidental president, and after facing repeated revolts form López loyalists in 1873 and 1874, first Ferreira and then Jovellanos fled into exile.
Pro-Argentine militia chief Benigno Ferreira for a short time emerged as de facto dictator until his overthrow by Bernardino Caballero with Brazilian help in 1874.
Jovellanos was an accidental president, and after facing repeated revolts form López loyalists in 1873 and 1874, first Ferreira and then Jovellanos fled into exile.
Sharp disagreements between the two powers prolonged the Allied occupation until 1876. Ruined by war, pestilence, famine, and unpaid foreign indemnities, Paraguay was on the verge of disintegration in 1870.
The Paraguayan economy, which until then was mostly state owned, was dismantled and privatized, and became dominated by Argentinian and European companies. During the Presidency of Juan Bautista Gill (1874–77), after the Machaín-Irigoyen Treaty was signed, the occupying Brazilian troops finally left the country in mid-summer of 1876. ===Legionnaires=== The post-war political vacuum was initially dominated by survivors of the anti-López Paraguayan Legion.
General Bernardino Caballero was the power behind the throne during terms of President Juan Bautista Gill, who was assassinated in 1877, and his political mentor, President Cándido Bareiro, who died from stroke in 1880.
After President Juan Bautista Gill was assassinated in 1877, Caballero used his power as army commander to guarantee Bareiro's election as president in 1878.
The political rivalry between future Liberals and Colorados started already in 1869 before the war was over, when the terms Azules (Blues) and Colorados (Reds) first appeared. ===Factions=== The remaining López loyalists gathered around Cándido Bareiro who, on 31 March 1869, founded the Republican Union Club which in early 1870 became the Club del Pueblo and after 17 February 1878, Club Libertad and who published their newspaper La Voz del Pueblo.
After President Juan Bautista Gill was assassinated in 1877, Caballero used his power as army commander to guarantee Bareiro's election as president in 1878.
His accession to power is notable because he brought political stability, founded the Colorado Party in 1887 to regulate the choice of Presidents and the distribution of spoils, and began a process of economic reconstruction. In 1878, the international commission led by US President Rutherford B.
Bolivia's claim to the Chaco became more urgent after it lost its sea coast (the Atacama region) to Chile during the 1879–84 War of the Pacific.
General Bernardino Caballero was the power behind the throne during terms of President Juan Bautista Gill, who was assassinated in 1877, and his political mentor, President Cándido Bareiro, who died from stroke in 1880.
When Bareiro died from a stroke in 1880, Caballero seized power in a bloodless coup and dominated Paraguayan politics for most of the next two decades, either as President or through his power in the army.
A census in 1886–87 showed a population of 329,645.
Liberals became bitter foes of selling land, especially after Caballero rigged the 1886 election to ensure a victory for General Patricio Escobar.
Political and financial opportunism characterized this era, not ideological purity. The Liberal and Colorado Parties were officially established in 1887.
His accession to power is notable because he brought political stability, founded the Colorado Party in 1887 to regulate the choice of Presidents and the distribution of spoils, and began a process of economic reconstruction. In 1878, the international commission led by US President Rutherford B.
Ex-Legionnaires, idealistic reformers, and former Lopiztas joined in July 1887 to form the Centro Democrático (Democratic Center), a precursor of the Liberal party, to demand free elections, an end to land sales, civilian control over the military, and clean government.
National University was founded in 1889.
While the Colorados reinforced their monopoly on power and spoils, Liberals called for reform. Frustration provoked an aborted Liberal revolt in 1891 that produced changes in 1894, when war minister General Juan Bautista Egusquiza overthrew Caballero's chosen President, Juan Gualberto González.
While the Colorados reinforced their monopoly on power and spoils, Liberals called for reform. Frustration provoked an aborted Liberal revolt in 1891 that produced changes in 1894, when war minister General Juan Bautista Egusquiza overthrew Caballero's chosen President, Juan Gualberto González.
Ex-Legionnaire Ferreira along with the cívico (civic) wing of the Liberals joined the government of Egusquiza, who left office in 1898 to allow a civilian, Emilio Aceval, to become President.
By 1900, seventy-nine people owned half of the country's land. Although the Liberals had advocated the same land-sale policy, the unpopularity of the sales and evidence of pervasive government corruption produced a tremendous outcry from the opposition.
Caballero, also boycotting the alliance, plotted to overthrow civilian rule and succeeded when Colonel Juan Antonio Escurra seized power in 1902.
Ferreira later returned to lead the 1904 Liberal uprising, which ousted the Colorados.
At this point Caballero assumed the presidency and laid the foundations of the two-party system, remaining one of the most influential politicians until the 1904 Liberal revolution. ==Liberals versus Colorados== The era of party politics in Paraguay was free to begin in earnest.
Liberal party came to be divided among civicos (civics) and radicales (radicals) factions, while Colorados were split among caballeristas (supporters of president Bernardino Caballero) and egusquicistas (supporters of president Juan Bautista Egusquiza). The National Republican Association-Colorado Party (Asociación Nacional Republicana-Partido Colorado) dominated Paraguayan political life from the mid-1880s until Liberals overthrew it in 1904.
In 1904 the old nemesis of Caballero, General Benigno Ferreira, with the support of cívicos, radicales, and egusquistas, invaded from Argentina.
After four months of fighting, Escurra signed the Pact of Pilcomayo aboard an Argentine gunboat on 12 December 1904, and handed power to the Liberals. ==Liberal era, 1904–36== The Liberal Revolution of August 1904 began as a popular movement, but Liberal rule quickly degenerated into factional feuding, military coups, and civil wars.
During the period 1904 to 1922, Paraguay had fifteen presidents. ===Revolution of 1904=== The 1904 Revolution was organized in Buenos Aires by Paraguayan exiles led by Manuel J.
On 4 August 1904 rebels took control of the ship in the port of Buenos Aires.
The fighting ended on 12 December 1904, when in a deal negotiated by Brazilian diplomat Brasílio Itiberê da Cunha, the Pilcomayo Pact, Escurra resigned and a temporary President, Juan Bautista Gaona, from the Liberal party was sworn in on 19 December 1904.
When rebel gunboats threatened to dash upriver from Argentina to bombard the capital into submission, Stroessner's forces battled furiously and destroyed them. By the end of the rebellion in August 1948 the Colorado Party, which had been out of power since 1904, had almost total control in Paraguay.
Ferreira then served as President between 1906 and 1908. ===Provisional government, 1869–70=== With Solano López on the run, the country lacked a government.
On 25 November 1906, the old Liberal hero, General Benigno Ferreira, was elected to the presidency. By 1908, the Liberal radicales had overthrown General Ferreira and the cívicos.
Ferreira then served as President between 1906 and 1908. ===Provisional government, 1869–70=== With Solano López on the run, the country lacked a government.
On 25 November 1906, the old Liberal hero, General Benigno Ferreira, was elected to the presidency. By 1908, the Liberal radicales had overthrown General Ferreira and the cívicos.
Nevertheless, by 1910 army commander Colonel Albino Jara felt strong enough to stage a coup against President Manuel Gondra.
Jara's coup backfired as it touched off an anarchic two-year period in which every major political group seized power at least once and led to the Civil War of 1912.
Gondra won the Presidential election in 1920, but the schaereristas undermined his power and forced him to resign.
Oil had been discovered there by Standard Oil in the 1920s, and people wondered whether an immense pool of oil was lying beneath the entire area. ===The Chaco issue=== While Paraguayans were busy fighting among themselves during the 1920s, Bolivians established a series of forts in the Paraguayan Chaco.
During the period 1904 to 1922, Paraguay had fifteen presidents. ===Revolution of 1904=== The 1904 Revolution was organized in Buenos Aires by Paraguayan exiles led by Manuel J.
A full-scale Paraguayan Civil War of 1922–23 between the factions broke out in May 1922 and lasted fourteen months.
Frustration in Paraguay with Liberal inaction boiled over in 1928 when the Bolivian army established a fort on the Paraguay river called Fortín Vanguardia.
Formed in 1928 by a group of intellectuals, the League sought a new era in national life that would witness a great political and social rebirth.
Since the 1930s, Paraguayans have regarded Solano López as the nation's foremost hero. ==The Paraguayan War== Solano López accurately assessed the September 1864 Brazilian intervention in Uruguay as a threat not only to Uruguay but to Paraguay as well.
Social conditions – always marginal in Paraguay – deteriorated during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The Liberal government also provoked criticism when it forced Franco, by then a national hero, to retire from the army. As diplomats from Argentina, the United States, and the League of Nations conducted fruitless "reconciliation" talks, Colonel José Félix Estigarribia, Paraguay's deputy army commander, ordered his troops into action against Bolivian positions early in 1931.
When government troops fired on a mob of League students demonstrating in front of the Government Palace in October 1931, the Liberal administration of President José Guggiari lost what little legitimacy it retained.
From 1932 to 1935 there were approximately 30,000 Paraguayan and 65,000 Bolivian casualties in the war. From 1870 to 1954, Paraguay was ruled by 44 different men, 24 of whom were forced from office in military coups.
The students and soldiers of the rising "New Paraguay" movement (which wanted to sweep away corrupt party politics and introduce nationalist and socialist reforms) would thereafter always see the Liberals as morally bankrupt. ===The war and Liberal downfall=== When war finally broke out officially in July 1932, the Bolivians were confident of a rapid victory.
Colonel Franco, back on active duty since 1932, became the focus of the nationalist rebels inside and outside the army.
The Paraguayans proved more united than the Bolivians, at least initially, as President Eusebio Ayala and Colonel (later Marshal) Estigarribia worked well together. After the December 1933 Paraguayan victory at Campo Via, Bolivia seemed on the verge of surrender.
From 1932 to 1935 there were approximately 30,000 Paraguayan and 65,000 Bolivian casualties in the war. From 1870 to 1954, Paraguay was ruled by 44 different men, 24 of whom were forced from office in military coups.
The war continued until July 1935.
After the 1935 truce, thousands of soldiers were sent home, leaving the regular army to patrol the front lines.
When Franco ordered Paraguayan troops to abandon the advanced positions in the Chaco that they had held since the 1935 truce, the army revolted in August 1937 and returned the Liberals to power. The army, however, did not hold a unified opinion about the Febreristas.
The gondristas beat the schaereristas decisively and held on to power until 1936. Laissez-faire Liberal policies had permitted a handful of hacendados to exercise almost feudal control over the countryside, while peasants had no land and foreign interests manipulated Paraguay's economic fortunes.
The government offended the army rank-and-file by refusing to fund pensions for disabled war veterans in 1936 while awarding 1,500 gold pesos a year to Estigarribia.
On 17 February 1936, units of the army descended on the Presidential Palace and forced Ayala to resign, ending thirty-two years of Liberal rule. ==Military dictatorships== ===The February Revolution=== The revolution of February 1936 overthrew Liberal Party politicians who had won the war.
Franco's cabinet reflected almost every conceivable shade of dissident political opinion, and included socialists, fascist sympathizers, nationalists, Colorados, and Liberal cívicos. A new party of regime supporters, the Revolutionary National Union (Unión Nacional Revolucionaria), was founded in November 1936.
When Franco ordered Paraguayan troops to abandon the advanced positions in the Chaco that they had held since the 1935 truce, the army revolted in August 1937 and returned the Liberals to power. The army, however, did not hold a unified opinion about the Febreristas.
The new Constitution was based on the 1937 authoritarian Constitution of Brazil's Estado Novo and established a corporativist state.
People who suspected that the Liberals had learned nothing from their term out of office soon had proof: a peace treaty signed with Bolivia on 21 July 1938, fixed the final boundaries behind the Paraguayan battle lines. ===Estigarribia=== In 1939 the Liberal politicians, recognizing that they had to choose someone with national stature and popularity to be President if they wanted to keep power, picked General José Félix Estigarribia as their candidate on 19 March 1939.
People who suspected that the Liberals had learned nothing from their term out of office soon had proof: a peace treaty signed with Bolivia on 21 July 1938, fixed the final boundaries behind the Paraguayan battle lines. ===Estigarribia=== In 1939 the Liberal politicians, recognizing that they had to choose someone with national stature and popularity to be President if they wanted to keep power, picked General José Félix Estigarribia as their candidate on 19 March 1939.
On 15 August 1939, he assumed the presidency and quickly realized that he would have to continue many of the ideas of the February Revolution to avoid political anarchy.
This led to a withdrawal of Colorado support for Estigarribia, and an attempted coup on 14 February 1940 broke out in Campo Grande military base. On the same day Estigarribia proposed to establish a temporary dictatorship.
This proposal split the Liberal party leadership, many of whom supported this idea, and on 18 February 1940 he established a temporary dictatorship, dismissing the 1870 Constitution and promising a new Constitution. On 10 July the project of the new Constitution was published and on 4 August 1940, approved in the referendum.
The Constitution of 1940 promised a "strong, but not despotic" President and a new state empowered to deal directly with social and economic problems.
It also gave the military the duty to protect the Constitution, thus giving it a role in politics. ===Morínigo, 1940–48=== The era of the New Liberals, as Estigarribia's supporters were called, came to a sudden end on 7 September 1940, when the President and his wife died in an airplane crash.
The result was the Constitution of 1940, which returned near-dictatorial powers to the Presidency, that the Liberals had stripped away.
The result was a failed coup d'état in December 1946 and full-scale civil war erupted in March 1947.
The result was a failed coup d'état in December 1946 and full-scale civil war erupted in March 1947.
When rebel gunboats threatened to dash upriver from Argentina to bombard the capital into submission, Stroessner's forces battled furiously and destroyed them. By the end of the rebellion in August 1948 the Colorado Party, which had been out of power since 1904, had almost total control in Paraguay.
He ran unopposed in the long-promised 1948 elections.
Suspecting that Moríñigo would not relinquish power to González, a group of Colorado military officers, including Stroessner, removed Moríñigo from office on 3 June 1948.
After a short Presidency, González joined Moríñigo in exile and Chavez assumed Presidency on 10 September 1949. Moríñigo had maintained order by severely restricting individual liberties, but as a result, he created a political vacuum.
One of the two smallest nations [as of 1952] on the American continent, it was the first American communistic state, the first American nation to be governed by an absolute dictator (in the modern sense of the term)." ==Overview== The first Spaniards reached this territory in early 16th century as part of colonial expeditions that created the global Spanish Empire.
From 1932 to 1935 there were approximately 30,000 Paraguayan and 65,000 Bolivian casualties in the war. From 1870 to 1954, Paraguay was ruled by 44 different men, 24 of whom were forced from office in military coups.
In 1954, General Alfredo Stroessner came to power and with the help of Colorado Party ruled until 1989. Although there is little ethnic strife in Paraguay to impede social and economic progress, there is the social conflict caused by underemployment and the enormous economic inequality between the rich and the poor, who are mostly rural inhabitants.
Meanwhile, the influence of the armed forces in the domestic politics had increased dramatically as no Paraguayan government since the Chaco War held the power without its consent. ==Stroessner, 1954–89== As one of the few officers who had remained loyal to Moríñigo, Stroessner became a formidable player once he entered the higher echelons of the armed forces.
On 4 May 1954, Alfredo Stroessner ordered his troops into action against the government of Federico Chávez.
And, according to Oxfam, stronism is directly responsible: between 1954 and 1989 some 8 million hectares were distributed irregularly among friends of power, he says.
From 1973 (when construction began) until 1982 (when it ended), gross domestic product grew more than 8% annually, double the rate for the previous decade and higher than growth rates in most other Latin American countries.
From 1973 (when construction began) until 1982 (when it ended), gross domestic product grew more than 8% annually, double the rate for the previous decade and higher than growth rates in most other Latin American countries.
Library of Congress Federal Research Division (December 1988). ==Further reading==
In 1954, General Alfredo Stroessner came to power and with the help of Colorado Party ruled until 1989. Although there is little ethnic strife in Paraguay to impede social and economic progress, there is the social conflict caused by underemployment and the enormous economic inequality between the rich and the poor, who are mostly rural inhabitants.
Positive steps to correct these inequities have occurred since 1989 ousting of Stroessner, and the occupation by the poor of hundreds of thousands of acres of land, which they claimed for subsistence farming.
And, according to Oxfam, stronism is directly responsible: between 1954 and 1989 some 8 million hectares were distributed irregularly among friends of power, he says.
That's a third of arable land. On 3 February 1989, Stroessner was overthrown in a military coup headed by his close associate General Andrés Rodríguez.
In the municipal elections of 1991, opposition candidates won several major urban centers, including Asunción. ==Modern Paraguay== The June 1992 constitution established a democratic system of government and dramatically improved protection of fundamental rights.
In the municipal elections of 1991, opposition candidates won several major urban centers, including Asunción. ==Modern Paraguay== The June 1992 constitution established a democratic system of government and dramatically improved protection of fundamental rights.
In May 1993, Colorado Party candidate Juan Carlos Wasmosy was elected as Paraguay's first civilian president in almost 40 years in what international observers deemed fair and free elections.
In December 1998, Paraguay's Supreme Court declared these actions unconstitutional.
After delaying for two months, Cubas openly defied the Supreme Court in February 1999, refusing to return Oviedo to jail.
In this tense atmosphere, the murder of Vice President and long-time Oviedo rival Luis María Argaña on 23 March 1999, led the Chamber of Deputies to impeach Cubas the next day.
In December 2001, Brazil rejected Paraguay's petition to extradite Oviedo to stand trial for the March 1999 assassination and "Marzo Paraguayo" incident. González Macchi offered cabinet positions in his government to senior representatives of all three political parties in an attempt to create a coalition government.
While the Liberal Party pulled out of the government in February 2000, the Gonzalez Macchi government has achieved a consensus among the parties on many controversial issues, including economic reform.
Liberal Julio César Franco won the August 2000 election to fill the vacant vice presidential position.
In December 2001, Brazil rejected Paraguay's petition to extradite Oviedo to stand trial for the March 1999 assassination and "Marzo Paraguayo" incident. González Macchi offered cabinet positions in his government to senior representatives of all three political parties in an attempt to create a coalition government.
In August 2001, the lower house of Congress considered but did not pass a motion to impeach González Macchi for alleged corruption and inefficient governance.
In 2003, Nicanor Duarte was elected and sworn in as president. On 1 August 2004 a supermarket in Asunción burned down, killing nearly 400 people and injuring hundreds more. On 1 July 2005, the United States reportedly deployed troops and aircraft to the large military airfield of Mariscal Estigarribia as part of a bid to extend control of strategic interests in the Latin American sphere, particularly in Bolivia.
In 2003, Nicanor Duarte was elected and sworn in as president. On 1 August 2004 a supermarket in Asunción burned down, killing nearly 400 people and injuring hundreds more. On 1 July 2005, the United States reportedly deployed troops and aircraft to the large military airfield of Mariscal Estigarribia as part of a bid to extend control of strategic interests in the Latin American sphere, particularly in Bolivia.
In 2003, Nicanor Duarte was elected and sworn in as president. On 1 August 2004 a supermarket in Asunción burned down, killing nearly 400 people and injuring hundreds more. On 1 July 2005, the United States reportedly deployed troops and aircraft to the large military airfield of Mariscal Estigarribia as part of a bid to extend control of strategic interests in the Latin American sphere, particularly in Bolivia.
He went into exile in Brazil, where he died in 2006.
Lugo was sworn in on 15 August 2008 and impeached in 2012. In 2013 Horacio Cartes was elected president.
Lugo was sworn in on 15 August 2008 and impeached in 2012. In 2013 Horacio Cartes was elected president.
Lugo was sworn in on 15 August 2008 and impeached in 2012. In 2013 Horacio Cartes was elected president.
Cartes wanted to amend the constitution to allow for presidential re-elections, but widespread protests prevented him from materializing his goal (see:2017 Paraguayan crisis). In August 2018, Mario Abdo Benítez sworn in as his successor after winning 2018 presidential election.
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