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Paraguay The Rise of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia
José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia was one of the greatest figures
in Paraguayan history. Ruling from 1814 until his death in 1840,
Francia succeeded almost single-handedly in building a strong,
prosperous, secure, and independent nation at a time when
Paraguay's continued existence as a distinct country seemed
unlikely. He left Paraguay at peace, with government coffers full
and many infant industries flourishing. Frugal, honest, competent,
and diligent, Francia was tremendously popular with the lower
classes. But despite his popularity, Francia trampled on human
rights, imposing an authoritarian police state based on espionage
and coercion. Under Francia, Paraguay underwent a social upheaval
that destroyed the old elites.
Paraguay at independence was a relatively undeveloped area. Most
residents of Asunción and virtually all rural settlers were
illiterate. Urban elites did have access to private schools and
tutoring. University education was, however, restricted to the few
who could afford studies at the University of Córdoba, in presentday Argentina. Practically no one had any experience in government,
finance, or administration. The settlers treated the Indians as
little better than slaves, and the paternalistic clergy treated
them like children. The country was surrounded by hostile
neighbors, including the warlike Chaco tribes. Strong measures were
needed to save the country from disintegration.
Francia, born in 1766, spent his student days studying theology
at the College of Monserrat at the University of Córdoba. Although
he was dogged by suggestions that his father--a Brazilian tobacco
expert--was a mulatto, Francia was awarded a coveted chair of
theology at the Seminary of San Carlos in Asunción in 1790. His
radical views made his position as a teacher there untenable, and
he soon gave up theology to study law. A devotee of the
Enlightenment and the French Revolution, a keen reader of Voltaire,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and the French Encyclopedists, Francia had
the largest library in Asunción. His interest in astronomy,
combined with his knowledge of French and other subjects considered
arcane in Asunción, caused some superstitious Paraguayans to regard
him as a wizard capable of predicting the future. As a lawyer, he
became a social activist and defended the less fortunate against
the affluent. He demonstrated an early interest in politics and
attained with difficulty the position of alcalde del primer
voto, or head of the Asunción cabildo, by 1809, the
highest position he could aspire to as a criollo.
After the cuartelazo (coup d'état) of May 14-15, which
brought independence, Francia became a member of the ruling junta.
Although real power rested with the military, Francia's many
talents attracted support from the nation's farmers. Probably the
only man in Paraguay with diplomatic, financial, and administrative
skills, Francia built his power base on his organizational
abilities and his forceful personality. By outwitting
porteño diplomats in the negotiations that produced the
Treaty of October 11, 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 the insecure
Paraguayan elite that he was indispensable. But at the end of 1811,
dissatisfied with the political role that military officers were
beginning to play, he resigned from the junta. From his retirement
in his modest chacra (cottage or hut) at Ibaray, near
Asunción, he told countless ordinary citizens who came to visit him
that their revolution had been betrayed, that the change in
government had only traded a Spanish-born elite for a criollo one,
and that the present government was incompetent and mismanaged. In
fact, the country was rapidly heading for a crisis. Not only were
the Portuguese threatening to overrun the northern frontiers, but
Argentina had also practically closed the Río de la Plata to
Paraguayan commerce by levying taxes and seizing ships. To make
matters worse, the porteño government agitated for
Paraguayan military assistance against the Spanish in Uruguay and,
disregarding the Treaty of October 11, for unification of Paraguay
with Argentina. The porteño government also informed the
junta it wanted to reopen talks.
When the junta learned that a porteño diplomat was on his
way to Asunción, it panicked because it realized it was not
competent to negotiate without Francia. In November 1812, the junta
members invited Francia to take charge of foreign policy, an offer
Francia accepted. In return, the junta agreed to place one-half of
the army and half the available munitions under Francia's command.
In the absence of anyone equal to him on the junta, Francia now
controlled the government. When the Argentine envoy, Nicolás de
Herrera, arrived in May 1813, he learned to his dismay that all
decisions had to await the meeting of a Paraguayan congress in late
September. Meanwhile, Paraguay again declared itself independent of
Argentina and expelled two junta members known to be sympathetic to
union with Argentina. Under virtual house arrest, Herrera had
little scope to build support for unification, even though he
resorted to bribery.
The congress, which met on September 30, 1813, was certainly the
first of its kind in Latin America. There were more than 1,100
delegates chosen by universal male suffrage, and many of these
delegates represented the poor, rural Paraguayan majority.
Ironically, the decisions of this democratically elected body would
set the stage for a long dictatorship. Herrera was neither allowed
to attend the sessions, nor to present his declaration; instead the
congress gave overwhelming support to Francia's anti-imperialist
foreign policy. The delegates rejected a proposal for Paraguayan
attendance at a constitutional congress at Buenos Aires and
established a Paraguayan republic--the first in Spanish America--
with Francia as first consul. Francia was supposed to trade places
every four months with the second consul, Fulgencio Yegros, but
Francia's consulship marked the beginning of his direct rule
because Yegros was little more than a figurehead. Yegros, a man
without political ambitions, represented the nationalist criollo
military elite, but Francia was the more powerful because he
derived his strength from the nationalist masses.
Data as of December 1988
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