Paraguayan Civil War (1947)

Last updated
Paraguayan Civil War
Part of the Cold War
Date7 March – 20 August 1947
Location
Paraguay
Result

Government/Military and Colorado Party victory

Belligerents

Flag of Paraguay (1842-1954).svg Paraguayan Government
Flag of Paraguay (1842-1954).svg Military of Paraguay
Bandera Partido Colorado de Paraguay.svg Colorado militias Supported by:

Contents

Partido Liberal Radical Autentico.svg Liberal Party
Bandera del Partido Revolucionario Febrerista.svg Febrerista Revolutionary Concentration
PCP paraguay.jpg Paraguayan Communist Party
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Paraguay (1842-1954).svg Higinio Morínigo
Flag of Paraguay (1842-1954).svg Alfredo Stroessner 		Bandera del Partido Revolucionario Febrerista.svg Rafael Franco
Strength
20,000 3,000

The Paraguayan Civil War (also known as the Barefoot Revolution and the Third Paraguayan Civil War) was a civil war in Paraguay that lasted from 7 March to 20 August 1947.

Background

Higinio Morinigo Morinigo py.jpg
Higinio Morínigo

In 1940 President Higinio Morínigo suspended the constitution and banned political parties. Resistance to his rule took the form of general strikes and student riots. In 1946 Morínigo legalized political activity and formed a cabinet with the Febrerista Revolutionary Concentration and the Colorado Party. The Febreristas resigned from the coalition on January 11, 1947, angry that Morínigo seemed to be favoring the Colorados. [1]

Conflict

The Febreristas made common cause with the Liberal Party and the Paraguayan Communist Party. Former Paraguayan president and founder of the Febrerista Party Rafael Franco led a rebellion that mushroomed into a civil war as the Paraguayan armed forces, which had previously remained loyal, split.

The Communist Party became increasingly active, organizing rural peasants and workers and pushing for agrarian reform. Meanwhile, the United States began a campaign to combat communism throughout the Americas, which included supporting right-wing governments and political movements. As a result, the U.S. backed Juan Natalicio Gonzalez, a wealthy landowner and political ally, in leading the 1947 coup against President Morinigo. [2]

On the rebels' side were all the political parties except the Colorados, most of the bankers and administrators and 80% of military officers. Out of 11 army divisions, four joined the rebels: on March 8 the two infantry divisions at Concepcion rebelled, joined by the two Chaco infantry divisions a few days later.[ citation needed ]

On the government's side were the Colorados, three cavalry divisions at Campo Grande; three Asunción divisions (infantry, signallers and engineers) and the artillery division from Paraguari equipped with World War II American weapons, specifically M1 Garand rifles and American-supplied captured weapons such as the German MP 40 submachine gun, giving the Colorados superior firepower. Most importantly, Argentina under Juan Perón gave vital support to the government without which they might well have fallen.[ citation needed ]

On April 27 the navy joined the rebellion and shelled Asunción; they were fought off by the artillery division that had come from Paraguarí, commanded by Gen. Alfredo Stroessner. The largest gunboats of the fleet, Paraguay and Humaita, were seized by the rebels in Buenos Aires while they were undergoing repairs.

Morínigo fought back and eventually gained the upper hand, and had won back control by August 1947. A third of the population had fled.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Paraguay</span>

The history of Paraguay encompasses thousands of years of human habitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfredo Stroessner</span> Military dictator of Paraguay from 1954 to 1989

Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda was a Paraguayan army officer, politician and dictator who served as President of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Party (Paraguay)</span> Political party in Paraguay

The National Republican Association – Colorado Party is a conservative political party in Paraguay, founded on 11 September 1887 by Bernardino Caballero. Since 1947, the Colorado party has been dominant in Paraguayan politics, ruling as the only legal party between 1947 and 1962, and has controlled the presidency since 1948 notwithstanding a brief interruption between 2008 and 2013. With almost 2 million members, it is the largest political party in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Félix Estigarribia</span>

José Félix Estigarribia Insaurralde was a Paraguayan military officer, politician and statesman. He was Commander in Chief of the Paraguayan Army during the Chaco War (1932–1935), and later served as President of Paraguay from August 15, 1939, until his death in a plane crash on September 7, 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Higinio Morínigo</span> President of Paraguay (1940–1948)

Higinio Nicolás Morínigo Martínez was a Paraguayan military officer and politician. He participated in the Chaco War (1932–1935) as a prominent officer of the Paraguayan Army. After the war he was appointed Chief of the Cabinet of the Ministry of War and Navy during the presidency of Félix Paiva. He was Minister of the Interior between January and August 1939, then appointed Minister of War and Navy and promoted to Major general in May 1940 during the government of José Félix Estigarribia. When Estigarribia died in a plane crash a few months later in September, Morínigo was elected as Provisional President by the Council of Ministers, holding the position until 1943 when he was elected unopposed as President in his own right, ruling until 1948, when he was overthrown and was forced to resign due to suspicions that he wanted to perpetuate himself in power, despite Juan Natalicio González being chosen as his successor, being replaced by then President of the Supreme Court of Justice Juan Manuel Frutos as Provisional President.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardino Caballero</span> Paraguayan politician (1839–1912)

Bernardino Caballero de Añazco Melgarejo y Genes was a Paraguayan military officer and politician, serving as a General during the Paraguayan War and later as President of Paraguay between September 1880 and November 1886. He was the founder of the Colorado Party in September 1887, the largest political party in Paraguay currently, along with the Liberal Party in second position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcos Morínigo</span>

Marcos Antonio Morínigo Fleytas was a Paraguayan politician who served as President of Paraguay in 1894.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Manuel Frutos</span>

Juan Manuel Frutos was a Paraguayan lawyer and politician. He served as the 36th President of Paraguay on a provisional basis, from June 3, 1948, to August 15, 1948. Holding the position of President of the Supreme Court of Justice, he assumed as Provisional President of Paraguay after the resignation of Higinio Morinigo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Natalicio González</span>

Juan Natalicio González Paredes was a Paraguayan politician and poet who served as President of Paraguay from 15 August 1948 to 30 January 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felipe Molas López</span> President of Paraguay in 1949

Felipe Benigno Molas López was 39th President of Paraguay from February 27, 1949 – September 10, 1949, when he resigned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paraguayan Army</span> National military force

The Paraguayan Army is the ground force branch of the Armed Forces of Paraguay. It is organized into three corps and nine divisions, and several commands and direction. It has gone to war on many occasions, notably in the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870) against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay; the Chaco War against Bolivia; and the ongoing Paraguayan People's Army insurgency.

The Battle of Tacuarí was a battle in Southern Paraguay between revolutionary forces under the command of General Manuel Belgrano, member of the Primera Junta government of Argentina, and Paraguayan troops under colonel Manuel Atanasio Cabañas, at the time at the service of the royalists.

Below is a timeline of the history of Paraguay:

Carmen Soler (1924–1985) was a Paraguayan educator, poet and member of the Paraguayan Communist Party. She was born in Asunción on August 4, 1924 and died in Buenos Aires on November 19, 1985. She was imprisoned and exiled several times for fighting against the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner</span> 1954–1989 period of Alfredo Stroessners rule in Paraguay

The dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, colloquially known as El Stronismo or El Stronato, was the period of almost 35 years in the history of Paraguay in which army general Alfredo Stroessner ruled the country under a one-party authoritarian military dictatorship, from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paraguayan Civil War (1922)</span> 1922–1923 civil war in Paraguay

The Paraguayan Civil War (1922), took place between 27 May 1922 and 10 July 1923, within the borders of Paraguay. It started when supporters of candidate Adolfo Chirife attempted to forcefully restore the implementation of presidential elections canceled by President Eusebio Ayala. Chirife represented the so-called Constitutionalist or Schaererist side ideologically supporting liberal politician Eduardo Schaerer, while troops under Ayala were named Loyalists or Gondrists ideologically pledging allegiance to former President Manuel Gondra. The conflict concluded when Gondrist forces defeated the remnants of the Schaererist army in Asunción.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">February Revolution (Paraguay)</span> 1936 coup détat that brought to power colonel Rafael Franco

February Revolution in Paraguay was a military coup d’état on February 17, 1936 that brought to power colonel Rafael Franco. The Revolution marked the end of Liberal Party rule in Paraguay and started the ascendancy of military dictatorships that lasted for more than half a century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guión Rojo</span> Paramilitary group involved in the 1947 Paraguayan civil war

The Guión Rojo was a Paraguayan paramilitary organization of the 1930-1950s, which was formed in 1942 as the paramilitary wing of the Colorado Party. It united supporters of Colorado leader Juan Natalicio González, far-right nationalists, anti-communists and adherents of Falangist and pro-fascist ideas. It played a prominent role under the dictatorial regime of the 1940s, in the civil war of 1947, the subsequent political struggle and the establishment of Alfredo Stroessner's dictatorship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Party militias</span>

During the course of the 20th century, the Colorado Party of Paraguay set up several paramilitary organizations and militias in the country. They defended party interests and positions by force and actively participated in armed civil conflicts, playing a decisive role in the 1947 civil war. During the period of one-party rule in Paraguay, they were key components of the repressive apparatus of the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner. Politically and ideologically, these paramilitary groups stood on ultra-right and anti-communist positions, from traditionalism to fascism.

Antonio Campos Alum was a Paraguayan politician and head of the National Directorate of Technical Affairs, a law enforcement agency during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner.

References

  1. ↑ "Paraguayan Civil War 1947". www.onwar.com. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  2. ↑ "Remembering Paraguay's Great War (disponible en español)". NACLA. Retrieved 2023-03-09.

Sapienza, Antonio Luis (Helion, 2018). Aerial Operations in the Revolutions of 1922 & 1947 in Paraguay. The First Dogfights in South America.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.