Bahía Negra is a district in the department of Alto Paraguay , Paraguay . Located on the right bank of the Paraguay River its population count is estimated to be around 2537, as of 2023.
145-487: [REDACTED] Paraguay [REDACTED] Bolivia The Chaco War (Spanish: Guerra del Chaco , Guarani : Cháko Ñorairõ ) was fought from 1932 to 1935 between Bolivia and Paraguay , over the control of the northern part of the Gran Chaco region (known in Spanish as Chaco Boreal ) of South America, which was thought to be rich in oil . The war is also referred to as La Guerra de la Sed (Spanish for "The War of Thirst") in literary circles since it
290-560: A utopian society based on the Genevan theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's Social Contract . Rodríguez de Francia was nicknamed El Supremo . Rodríguez de Francia established new laws that greatly reduced the powers of the Catholic church (Catholicism was then an established state religion) and the cabinet, forbade colonial citizens from marrying one another and allowed them to marry only blacks, mulattoes or natives, in order to break
435-582: A Bolivian Osprey was shot down over the Paraguay River, and on 27 April, a strike force of six Ospreys launched a successful mission from the base at Muñoz against the logistic riverine base and town of Puerto Casado, but the strong diplomatic reaction of Argentina prevented any further strategic attacks on targets along the Paraguay River. On 26 November 1934, the Brazilian steamer Paraguay was strafed and mistakenly bombed by Bolivian aircraft while it
580-498: A Bolivian withdrawal. Salamanca instead demanded that they were included in a "zone of dispute." On a memorandum directed to Salamanca on 30 August, Bolivian General Filiberto Osorio expressed his concerns over the lack of a plan of operations and attached one that focused on an offensive from the north. Quintanilla also asked for permission to capture two additional Paraguayan garrisons: Nanawa and Rojas Silva. In August, Bolivia slowly reinforced its 4,000-men First Bolivian Army, which
725-496: A close relationship with the Brazilian far-right president (in power 2019–2022), Jair Bolsonaro . In February 2019, President Mario Abdo Benitez was at Bolsonaro's side when Bolsonaro praised Paraguayan military dictator Alfredo Stroessner, calling him "a man of vision". In 2021, Paraguay became the first country in South America to produce electric energy in its 100% renewable energy supply. In May 2023, Santiago Peña of
870-524: A large offensive before the Bolivians had mobilized their whole army. Fortín Boquerón was the first target of the Paraguayan offensive. The Boquerón compound was guarded by 619 Bolivian troops and resisted a 22-day siege by a 5,000-man Paraguayan force. An additional 2,500 Bolivians attempted to relieve the siege from the southwest but were beaten back by 2,200 Paraguayans, who defended the accesses to
1015-727: A large-scale pincer movement against Fortín Alihuatá and repeated the previous success of those operations; 7000 Bolivian troops had to evacuate Fortín Alihuatá. On 10 December 1933, the Paraguayans finished their encirclement of the 9th and 4th divisions of the Bolivian Army. After attempts had been made to break through Paraguayan lines and 2,600 of their men had been killed, 7,500 Bolivian soldiers surrendered. Only 900 Bolivian troops, led by Major Germán Busch , managed to slip away. The Paraguayans obtained 8,000 rifles, 536 machine guns, 25 mortars, two tanks, and 20 artillery pieces from
1160-412: A larger and better-equipped army, a series of factors turned the tide against it, and Paraguay controlled most of the disputed zone when the war had ended. The peace treaties ultimately granted two-thirds of the disputed territories to Paraguay. The origins of the war are commonly attributed to a long-standing territorial dispute and to the discovery of oil deposits on the eastern Andes range; in 1929,
1305-462: A larger force than the one involved in its first offensive. By early 1934, Estigarribia was planning an offensive against the Bolivian garrison at Puerto Suárez, 145 km upriver from Bahía Negra. The Pantanal marshes and the lack of canoes to navigate through them convinced the Paraguayan commander to abandon the idea and to turn his attention to the main front. After the armistice had ended,
1450-495: A livelihood. Each family had its house or hut in its own ground. They planted, in a few days, enough tobacco, maize and mandioca for their own consumption [...]. Having at every hut a grove of oranges [...] and also a few cows, they were almost throughout the year under little necessity [...]. The higher classes, of course, lived more in the European way... On 12 October 1864, despite Paraguayan ultimatums, Brazil (allied with
1595-479: A long battle of attrition. On 15 April, the Paraguayans punched through the Bolivian lines on the Parapetí River and took over the city of Charagua . The Bolivian command launched a counteroffensive, which forced the Paraguayans back. Although the Bolivians' plan fell short of its target of encircling an entire enemy division, they managed to take 475 prisoners on 25 April. On 4 June 1935, a Bolivian regiment
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#17327646438471740-657: A millennium before the arrival of the Spanish . Western Paraguay, the Gran Chaco , was inhabited by nomads of whom the Guaycuru peoples were the most prominent. The Paraguay River was roughly the dividing line between the agricultural Guarani people to the east and the nomadic and semi-nomadic people to the west in the Gran Chaco. The Guarcuru nomads were known for their warrior traditions and were not fully pacified until
1885-555: A mission to Paraguay to gather information, concluded that the impeachment process was not a coup d'état, as it had been carried out in accordance with the Constitution of Paraguay . From August 2013 to 15 August 2018, the President of Paraguay was Horacio Cartes . Since 15 August 2018, the President of Paraguay has been Mario Abdo Benítez . They are both from the conservative Colorado Party . President Mario Abdo enjoyed
2030-536: A new offensive in the form of three separate encirclement movements in the Alihuatá area, which was chosen since its Bolivian forces had been weakened by the transfer of soldiers to attack Fortín Gondra. As a result of the encirclement campaign, the Bolivian regiments Loa and Ballivián, totaling 509 men, surrendered. The Junín regiment suffered the same fate, but the Chacaltaya regiment escaped encirclement because of
2175-506: A new route in the forests to make the attack possible. When Bolivian reconnaissance aircraft noticed the new path being opened in the forest, a plan was made to let the Paraguayans enter halfway up the path and then to attack them from the rear. The Bolivian operation resulted in the Battle of Cañada Strongest between 18 and 25 May. The Bolivians managed to capture 67 Paraguayan officials and 1,389 soldiers. After their defeat at Cañada Strongest,
2320-664: A period of great political instability. Between 1904 and 1954 Paraguay had thirty-one presidents , most of whom were removed from office by force. Conflicts between the factions of the ruling Liberal party led to the Paraguayan Civil War of 1922 . The unresolved border conflict with Bolivia over the Chaco region finally erupted in the early 1930s in the Chaco War . After both sides suffered great losses, Paraguay defeated Bolivia and established its sovereignty over most of
2465-486: A port on the Upper Paraguay River, south of Bahía Negra . He assumed that the new settlement was well inside Bolivian territory, though Bolivia had implicitly recognized Bahía Negra as Paraguayan. The Paraguayan government sent in a naval detachment aboard the gunboat Pirapó , which forcibly evicted the Bolivians from the area in 1888. Two agreements followed, in 1894 and 1907, which neither the Bolivian nor
2610-558: A professional politician in civil government, and a member of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party, Paraguay's largest opposition party. Lugo was an adherent of liberation theology . Lugo achieved a historic victory in Paraguay's presidential election, defeating the ruling party candidate, and ending 61 years of conservative rule. Lugo won with nearly 41% of the vote, compared to almost 31% for Blanca Ovelar of
2755-596: A quantity of Stokes-Brandt Model 1931 mortars . Highly portable (each of three parts could be carried by a soldier) and accurate, with a range of 3,000 yards, the angu'as ("corn-mashers" or "mortar" in Guarani) caused many casualties among Bolivian troops. In the course of the conflict, Paraguayan factories developed their own type of pyrotechnic-ignater hand grenade , the pineapple shaped carumbe'i (Guaraní for "little turtle") and produced trailers, mortar tubes, artillery grenades, and aerial bombs. The Paraguayan war effort
2900-458: A string of plots, which resulted in his military coup d'état of 4 May 1954 . In the aftermath of World War II , Paraguay became a hideout for Nazi fugitives accused of war crimes. A series of unstable governments ensued until the establishment in 1954 of the regime of dictator Alfredo Stroessner , who remained in office for more than three decades until 1989. Paraguay was modernized to some extent under Stroessner's regime, although his rule
3045-614: A succession of military dictators, culminating in the 35-year regime of Alfredo Stroessner , which lasted until his overthrow in 1989 by an internal military coup. This marked the beginning of Paraguay's current democratic era. Paraguay is a developing country , ranking 105th in the Human Development Index . It is a founding member of Mercosur , the United Nations , the Organization of American States ,
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#17327646438473190-565: The Acre War and the subsequent Treaty of Petrópolis of 1903 between Bolivia and Brazil, as "compensation" for the territories that Brazil obtained from Bolivia and Peru , the Brazilian state "recognized" the "full Bolivian sovereignty" over the Boreal Chaco, although Brazil did not possess any rights south of latitude 19° S, omitting the protests of the then Paraguayan president Juan Antonio Escurra , made between 1902 and 1904. In 1907
3335-773: The Bandeirantes , in addition to seeking their conversion to Christianity. Catholicism in Paraguay was influenced by the indigenous peoples: The syncretic religion has absorbed native elements. The reducciones flourished in eastern Paraguay for about 150 years, until the expulsion of the Jesuits by the Spanish Crown in 1767. The ruins of two 18th century Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangue have been designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO . In western Paraguay, Spanish settlement and Christianity were strongly resisted by
3480-647: The Battle of Campo Jordán , which concluded in the retreat of the Paraguayan First Division to Gondra. In July 1933, Kundt, still focusing on capturing Nanawa, launched a massive frontal attack on the fortín in what came to be known as the Second Battle of Nanawa . Kundt had prepared for the second attack in detail by using artillery, airplanes, tanks, and flamethrowers to overcome Paraguayan fortifications. The Paraguayans, however, had improved existing fortifications and built new ones since
3625-580: The Colorado Party in the 1980s, and the prevailing conditions – Stroessner's advanced age, the character of the regime, the economic downturn, and international isolation – were catalysts for anti-regime demonstrations and statements by the opposition prior to the 1988 general elections. PLRA leader Domingo Laíno served as the focal point of the opposition in the second half of the 1980s. The government's effort to isolate Laíno by exiling him in 1982 had backfired. On his sixth attempt to re-enter
3770-717: The Köppen climate classification . The indigenous peoples inhabiting the area at the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century were already the iśir (commonly called "zamucos" or "chamacocos") , some Guarani or Guarani-assimilated groups such as the Itatines, and later the Pampids, known by the name of Caduveo . The first Spaniards to reach these territories were those of the expeditions led by Captains Juan de Ayolas and his lieutenant Domingo Martínez de Irala , who founded
3915-944: The Non-Aligned Movement and the Lima Group . Additionally, the city of Luque , in metropolitan Asuncion, is the seat of the South American Football Confederation . Although one of only two landlocked countries in South America ( Bolivia is the other), Paraguay has ports on the Paraguay and Paraná rivers that give exit to the Atlantic Ocean, through the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway. The majority of Paraguay's 6 million people are mestizo , and Guarani culture remains widely influential; more than 90% of
4060-541: The Pan American League , but an arms race had already begun, and both countries were on a collision course. The regular border clashes might have led to war in the 1920s if either side had been capable of waging war against one another. As it was, neither Paraguay or Bolivia had an arms industry, and both sides had to import vast quantities of arms from Europe and the United States to arm themselves for
4205-628: The Republic of Paraguay ( Spanish : República del Paraguay ; Guarani : Paraguái Tavakuairetã ), is a landlocked country in South America . It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of around 6.1 million, nearly 2.3 million of whom live in the capital and largest city of Asunción , and its surrounding metro area. Spanish conquistadores arrived in 1524, and in 1537 established
4350-646: The Treaty of Lima ended the hopes of the Bolivian government of recovering a land corridor to the Pacific Ocean, which was thought imperative to further development and trade. Both Bolivia and Paraguay were landlocked. The 600,000 km Chaco was sparsely populated, but control of the Paraguay River running through it would provide access to the Atlantic Ocean. That became especially important to Bolivia, which had lost its Pacific coast to Chile during
4495-588: The occupation of the land . Indeed, both Paraguayan and Argentine planters were already breeding cattle and exploiting quebracho woods in the area, and the small nomadic indigenous population of Guaraní -speaking tribes was related to Paraguay's own Guaraní heritage. As of 1919, Argentine banks owned 400,000 hectares of land in the eastern Chaco, and the Casado family, a powerful part of the Argentine oligarchy , held 141,000. The presence of Mennonite colonies in
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4640-532: The 1879 War of the Pacific . Paraguay had lost almost half of its territory to Brazil and Argentina in the Paraguayan War of 1864 to 1870 and was not prepared to surrender its economic viability. In international arbitration, Bolivia argued that the region had been part of the original Spanish colonial province of Moxos and Chiquitos to which Bolivia was heir . Meanwhile, Paraguay based its case on
4785-560: The 200th anniversary of independence from the Spanish Empire as a sovereign state. Lugo's supporters gathered outside Congress to protest the decision as a "politically motivated coup d'état". Lugo's removal from office on 22 June 2012 is considered by UNASUR and other neighboring countries, especially those currently governed by leftist leaders, as a coup d'état. However, the Organization of American States, which sent
4930-651: The Allies. It was marked as the bloodiest battle in South America during the war. The Paraguayans put up a ferocious resistance but ultimately lost in 1870 in the Battle of Cerro Corá , where Marshal Solano López refused to surrender and died in action. The real causes of this war, which remains the bloodiest international conflict in the history of The Americas , are still highly debatable. Paraguay lost 25–33% of its territory to Argentina and Brazil, paid an enormous war debt, and sold large amounts of national properties to stabilize its internal budget. The worst consequence of
5075-525: The Altiplano's aboriginals of Quechua or Aymará (90% of the infantry troops), while the lower-ranking officers were of Spanish or other European ancestry, and the army commander-in-chief, Hans Kundt , was German. Although the Bolivian army had more manpower, it never mobilized more than 60,000 men, and no more than two-thirds of its army were ever on the Chaco. Paraguay, on the other hand, mobilized its entire army. A British diplomat reported in 1932 that
5220-866: The Argentine Government under General Bartolomé Mitre and the rebellious Uruguayan colorados led by Gen. Venancio Flores ) invaded the Republic of Uruguay in order to overthrow the government of that time (which was under the rule of the Blanco Party , an ally of López), thus starting the Paraguayan War . The Paraguayans, led by the Marshal of the Republic Francisco Solano López , retaliated by attacking Mato Grosso on 15 December 1864 and later declared war against Argentina on 23 March 1865. The Blanco Government
5365-465: The Bolivian high command and to order it to spare more men. The defeat seriously damaged Kundt's prestige. In September, his resignation of his position as commander-in-chief was not accepted by the president. Nanawa was a major turning point in the war since the Paraguayan Army regained the strategic initiative, which had belonged to the Bolivians since early 1933. In September, Paraguay began
5510-600: The Bolivian oilfields, this time at Camiri , 130 km north of Villa Montes. The commander of the Paraguayan 3rd Corps, General Franco, found a gap between the Bolivian 1st and 18th Infantry regiments and ordered his troops to attack through it, but they became stuck in a salient with no hope of further progress. The Bolivian Sixth Cavalry forced the hasty retreat of Franco's troops to avoid being cut off. The Paraguayans lost 84 troops who were taken prisoner, and more than 500 dead were left behind. The Bolivians lost almost 200 men, but unlike their exhausted enemies, they could afford
5655-460: The Bolivian troops near Fortín Nanawa to withdraw northwest to form a new defensive line. Paraguayan Colonel Rafael Franco proposed to launch a new attack against Ballivián and Villa Montes but was turned down, as Ayala thought that Paraguay had already won the war. A 20-day ceasefire was agreed upon between the warring parties on 19 December 1933. On 6 January 1934, when the armistice expired, Bolivia had reorganized its eroded army and had assembled
5800-486: The Bolivians failed to capture the fort but formed a defensive amphitheater in front of it. The Second Corps managed to capture Fortín Corrales and Fortín Platanillos but failed to take Fortín Fernández and Fortín Toledo . After a siege that lasted from 26 February to 11 March 1933, the Second Corps aborted its attack on Fortín Toledo and withdrew to a defensive line, built 15 km from Fortín Corrales. After
5945-618: The Bolivians made extensive use of at least 20 CW-14 Ospreys . Despite an international arms embargo imposed by the League of Nations , Bolivia in particular went to great lengths in trying to import a small number of Curtiss T-32 Condor II twin-engined bombers, disguised as civil transport planes, but they were stopped in Peru before they could be delivered. The valuable aerial reconnaissance produced by Bolivia's superior air force in spotting approaching Paraguayan encirclements of Bolivian forces
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6090-476: The Bolivians to abandon Ballivián and to form a new defensive line at Villa Montes . On 27 November 1934, Bolivian generals confronted Salamanca while he was visiting their headquarters in Villa Montes and forced him to resign. They replaced him with Vice President José Luis Tejada . On 9 November 1934, the 12,000-man-strong Bolivian Cavalry Corps managed to capture Yrendagüé and to put the Paraguayan Army on
6235-407: The Bolivians to surrender. The Paraguayans had expected to lay a new siege on Fortín Arce, the most advanced Bolivian outpost in the Chaco, but when they got there, they found it in ruins. The 4,000 Bolivians who were defending Arce had retreated to the southeast to Fortín Alihuatá and Saveedra . In December 1932, Bolivia's war mobilization had concluded. In terms of weaponry and manpower, its army
6380-467: The Chaco and that Bolivia's "inordinately long lines of communication" would help Paraguay if war broke out. Furthermore, the drop in altitude from 3,700 m (12,000 ft) in the Andes to 150 metres (500 ft) in the Chaco imposed further strain on Bolivia's efforts to supply its soldiers in the Chaco. Bolivia's railroads did not run to the Chaco, and all Bolivian supplies and soldiers had to travel to
6525-422: The Chaco might prove a rich source of petroleum, and foreign oil companies were involved in the exploration. Standard Oil was already producing oil from wells in the high hills of eastern Bolivia, around Villa Montes . However, it is uncertain if the war would have been caused solely by the interests of the companies, not by aims of Argentina to import oil from the Chaco. In opposition to the " dependency theory " of
6670-704: The Chaco region. One month later, on 16 July, a Paraguayan detachment drove the Bolivian troops from the area. The lake had been discovered by Paraguayan explorers in March 1931, but the Bolivian High Command was unaware of that when one of its aircraft spotted the lake in April 1932. After the initial incident, Salamanca changed his status quo policy over the disputed area and ordered the outposts of Corrales, Toledo, and Fortín Boquerón to be captured. All three were soon taken, and in response, Paraguay called for
6815-510: The Chaco, which is part of the Gran Chaco . The country lies between latitudes 19° and 28°S , and longitudes 54° and 63°W . Bah%C3%ADa Negra Bahía Negra is located in the northeastern extreme of the Alto Paraguay department, about 137 km north of Fuerte Olimpo , which is the departmental capital. Bahía Negra is located at the coordinates 20°15'00"S 58°12'00"W and at an altitude of 75 m above sea level. As its name suggests,
6960-539: The Chaco, who settled there in the 1920s under the auspices of the Paraguayan Parliament, was another factor in favour of Paraguay's claim. The impetus for war was exacerbated by a conflict between oil companies jockeying for exploration and drilling rights, with Royal Dutch Shell backing Paraguay and Standard Oil supporting Bolivia. The discovery of oil in the Andean foothills sparked speculation that
7105-784: The Chaco. Many Paraguayan Army commanders had gained combat experience as volunteers with the French Army in World War I. Its army commander, Colonel (later General and then Marshal) José Félix Estigarribia , soon rose to the top of the combat command. Estigarribia capitalized on the native Guarani knowledge of the forest and ability to live off the land to gain valuable intelligence on conducting his military campaigns. Estigarribia preferred to bypass Bolivian garrisons, and his subordinates, such as Colonel Rafael Franco , proved adept at infiltrating enemy lines often by encircling Bolivian strongholds (Paraguay held over 21,000 prisoners-of-war when
7250-561: The Colorado Party. Reports suggested that the businessman Horacio Cartes became the new political figure amid disputes. Despite the US Drug Enforcement Administration 's strong accusations against Cartes related to drug trafficking , he continued to amass followers in the political arena. On 14 January 2011, the Colorado Party convention nominated Horacio Cartes as the presidential candidate for
7395-566: The Colorado party. Outgoing President Nicanor Duarte Frutos hailed the moment as the first time in the history of the nation that a government had transferred power to opposition forces in a constitutional and peaceful fashion. Lugo was sworn in on 15 August 2008. The Lugo administration set its two major priorities as the reduction of corruption and economic inequality. Political instability following Lugo's election and disputes within his cabinet encouraged some renewal of popular support for
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#17327646438477540-531: The First Battle of Nanawa. The Bolivian two-pronged attack managed to capture parts of the defensive complex but was soon retaken by Paraguayan counterattacks by reserves . The Bolivians lost more than 2,000 men, who were injured or killed in the Second battle of Nanawa, but Paraguay lost only 559, men who were injured or killed. The failure to capture Nanawa and the heavy loss of life led Salamanca to criticize
7685-491: The López family was characterized by pervasive and rigid centralism in production and distribution. There was no distinction between the public and the private spheres, and the López family ruled the country as it would a large estate. The government exerted control on all exports. The export of yerba mate and valuable wood products maintained the balance of trade between Paraguay and the outside world. The Paraguayan government
7830-604: The Minister of War General Hans Kundt , Bolivia purchased a number of light tanks and tankettes for support of infantry forces. German instructors provided training to the mostly-Bolivian crews, who received eight weeks' training. The Vickers light tanks bought by Bolivia were the Vickers Type A and Type B, commissioned into the Bolivian army in December 1932 and were originally painted in camouflage patterns. Hampered by
7975-423: The Paraguay River to Puerto Casado and from there directly to the front lines by railway, but most Bolivian troops had to come from the western highlands, some 800 km away and with little or no logistic support. In fact, it took a Bolivian soldier 14 days to cross the distance, as opposed to a Paraguayan soldier's four. The heavy equipment used by the Bolivian Army made things even worse. The poor water supply and
8120-458: The Paraguayan Army continued its advance by capturing the outposts of Platanillos, Loa, Esteros, and Jayucubás. After the Battle of Campo de Vía in December, the Bolivian Army built up a defensive line at Magariños-La China. The line, carefully built, was considered to be one of the finest defensive lines of the war. However, a small Paraguayan attack on 11 February 1934, managed to breach the line to
8265-432: The Paraguayan Army prior to and during the war, López's government was comparatively a good one for Paraguay: Probably in no other country in the world has life and property been so secure as all over Paraguay during his (Antonio Lopez's) reign. Crime was almost unknown, and when committed, immediately detected and punished. The mass of the people was, perhaps, the happiest in existence. They had hardly to do any work to gain
8410-659: The Paraguayan Parliaments ever approved. Meanwhile, in 1905 Bolivia founded two new outposts in the Chaco, Ballivián and Guachalla, this time along the Pilcomayo River . The Bolivian government ignored the halfhearted Paraguayan official protest. Bolivian penetration in the region went unopposed until 1927, when the first blood was shed over the Chaco Boreal. On 27 February, a Paraguayan Army foot patrol and its native guides were taken prisoners near
8555-720: The Paraguayan naval presence in Bahía Negra. She was withdrawn to the Itenez River , in northern Bolivia, after Bolivian aerial reconnaissance revealed the actual strength of the Paraguayan Navy in the area. On 15 June 1932, a Bolivian detachment captured and burned to the ground the Fortín Carlos Antonio López at Pitiantutá Lake. The captain in charge had disobeyed explicit orders by Bolivian President Daniel Salamanca to avoid provocations in
8700-459: The Paraguayan soldiers. Some M1927 rifles experienced catastrophic receiver failures, a fault that was later traced to faulty ammunition. After the commencement of hostilities, Paraguay captured sufficient numbers of Bolivian VZ-24 rifles and MP 28 submachine guns (nicknamed piripipi ) to equip all of its front-line infantry forces. Paraguay had a population only a third as large as that of Bolivia (880,000 vs. 2,150,000). However, Paraguay gained
8845-405: The Paraguayans continued their attempts to capture Ballivián. It was considered to be a key stronghold by the Bolivians, mostly for its symbolic position, since it was the most southeastern Bolivian position that remained after the second Paraguayan offensive. In November 1934, Paraguayan forces once again managed to surround and to neutralize two Bolivian divisions at El Carmen. The disaster forced
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#17327646438478990-410: The Paraguayans lost only a few dozen men. Some fleeing Bolivian soldiers were reported to have jumped into the fast-flowing waters of the Pilcomayo River to avoid capture. After that defeat, the Bolivian Army prepared for a last stand at Villa Montes . The loss of that base would allow the Paraguayans to reach the proper Andes . Colonel Bernardino Bilbao Rioja and Oscar Moscoso were left in charge of
9135-439: The Pilcomayo River and held in the Bolivian outpost of Fortin Sorpresa, where the commander of the Paraguayan platoon, Lieutenant Adolfo Rojas Silva, was shot and killed in suspicious circumstances. Fortín (Spanish for "little fort") was the name used for the small pillbox and trench-like garrisons in the Chaco, although the troops' barracks usually consisted in no more than a few mud huts. The Bolivian government formally regretted
9280-423: The President-Dictator in 1862, and generally continued the political policies of his father. Both wanted to give an international image of Paraguay as "democratic and republican", but in fact, the ruling family had almost total control of all public life in the country, including church and colleges. Militarily, Carlos Antonio López modernized and expanded industry and the Paraguayan Army and greatly strengthened
9425-415: The Triple Alliance jeopardized this limit since Brazil occupied the banks of the Paraguay River and demanded on the Chaco side as the southern limit, the 20º S parallel. Through the "Muñoz-López Netto" treaty with Bolivia on March 27, 1867, it renounced its litigation over the territory located between the Verde River and Bahía Negra. Gregorio Pacheco , who was the president of the Republic of Bolivia, with
9570-407: The United States, the Organization of American States, and other countries in the region, the Paraguayan people rejected an April 1996 attempt by then Army Chief General Lino Oviedo to oust President Wasmosy. Oviedo was nominated as the Colorado candidate for president in the 1998 election. However, when the Supreme Court upheld in April his conviction on charges related to the 1996 coup attempt, he
9715-464: The aim of incorporating the remote territories and even those litigated with the neighboring Republic of Paraguay, founded on July 16, 1885, the then Puerto Pacheco, located on the right bank of the Paraguay River. In 1888, Paraguayan forces managed to occupy said port. The Paraguayan president Patricio Escobar , diplomatically supported by Argentina , defended Paraguayan sovereignty in the area but it would be returned to Bolivia in 1894. However, after
9860-584: The area were Spanish explorers in 1516. The Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar de Espinosa founded the settlement of Asunción on 15 August 1537. The city eventually became the center of a Spanish colonial province of Paraguay . An attempt to create an autonomous Christian Indian nation was undertaken by Jesuit missions and settlements in this part of South America in the eighteenth century. They developed Jesuit reductions to bring Guarani populations together at Spanish missions and protect them from virtual slavery by Spanish settlers and Portuguese slave raiders,
10005-425: The average Bolivian had never been anywhere close to the Chaco and "had not the slightest expectation of visiting it in the course of his life." Most Bolivians had little interest in fighting, let alone dying, for the Chaco. Furthermore, the typical Bolivian soldier was a Quechua or Aymara peasant conscript accustomed to life high in the Andes Mountains and did not fare well in the low-lying, hot, and humid land of
10150-442: The captured Bolivian forces. By then, Paraguayan forces had captured so many Bolivian tanks and armored vehicles that Bolivia was forced to purchase Steyr Solothurn 15 mm anti-tank rifles to fend off its own armor. The remaining Bolivian troops withdrew to their headquarters at Muñoz, which was set on fire and evacuated on 18 December. Kundt resigned as chief of staff of the Bolivian Army. The massive defeat at Campo de Vía forced
10295-425: The city of Asunción , the first capital of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata . During the 17th century, Paraguay was the center of Jesuit missions , where the native Guaraní people were converted to Christianity and introduced to European culture. After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories in 1767, Paraguay increasingly became a peripheral colony. Following independence from Spain in
10440-531: The coming conflict. It was the need for both sides to import sufficient arms that held back the outbreak of the war to 1932, when both sides felt capable of resorting to arms to settle the long-running dispute. Bolivian infantry forces were armed with the latest in foreign weapons, including DWM Maxim M1904 and M1911 machine guns, Czechoslovak ZB vz. 26 and Vickers-Berthier light machine guns, Mauser-type Czechoslovak Vz. 24 7.65 mm rifles ( mosquetones ) and Schmeisser MP-28 II 9 mm submachine guns. At
10585-494: The country in 1986, Laíno returned with three television crews from the U.S., a former United States ambassador to Paraguay, and a group of Uruguayan and Argentine congressmen. Despite the international contingent, the police violently barred Laíno's return. The Stroessner regime relented in April ;1987, and permitted Laíno to return to Asunción. Laíno took the lead in organizing demonstrations and reducing infighting among
10730-407: The country's will to win and determination, would give them the edge in the war. Both armies deployed a significant number of cavalry regiments, but they actually served as infantry since it was soon learned that the dry Chaco could not provide enough water and forage for horses. Only a relatively few mounted squadrons carried out reconnaissance missions at the divisional level. At the insistence of
10875-527: The current Puerto Esperanza and 20 km southwest of Bahía Negra— both destroyed by the Guaycurúes in 1674, and later the Franciscan reduction of San Ignacio de Zamucos (1724-1745) —about 10 km north of the modern Fortín Ravelo of Bolivia from 1931, in the present Bolivian Chaco and around 20 km from the border with Paraguay— would also be destroyed, leading to the erection of seventeen fortifications on
11020-560: The current tri-border area between Bolivia , Brazil, and Paraguay, to the north of Bahía Negra, and forming part of the border with Bolivia, runs erratically between the Otuquis wetlands , the river of the same name, which would later be called the Bambural River (by Bolivia) or Negro River (by Paraguay), in the north of the Boreal Chaco. The climate of Bahía Negra can be classified as a tropical savanna climate (Aw), according to
11165-624: The death of Rojas Silva, but Paraguayan public opinion called it "murder." After subsequent talks arranged in Buenos Aires failed to produce any agreement and eventually collapsed in January 1928, the dispute grew violent. On 5 December 1928, a Paraguayan cavalry unit overran Fortin Vanguardia, an advance outpost established by the Bolivian army a few kilometres northwest of Bahía Negra. The Paraguayans captured 21 Bolivian soldiers and burned
11310-413: The defenses after other high-ranking officers had declined. On 11 January 1935, the Paraguayans encircled and forced the retreat of two Bolivian regiments. The Paraguayans also managed in January to cut off the road between Villa Montes and Santa Cruz . The Paraguayan commander-in-chief, Estigarribia , decided to launch a final assault on Villa Montes. On 7 February 1935, around 5,000 Paraguayans attacked
11455-643: The disputed Chaco region. After the war, military officers used popular dissatisfaction with the Liberal politicians to seize the power for themselves. On 17 February 1936, the February Revolution brought colonel Rafael Franco to power. Between 1940 and 1948, the country was ruled by general Higinio Morínigo . Dissatisfaction with his rule resulted in the Paraguayan civil war of 1947 . In its aftermath Alfredo Stroessner began involvement in
11600-465: The dry climate of the region played a key role during the conflict. There were thousands of non-combat casualties from dehydration , mostly by the Bolivian troops. The Chaco War is also important historically as the first instance of large-scale aerial warfare to take place in the Americas. Both sides used obsolete single-engined biplane fighter-bombers. The Paraguayans deployed 14 Potez 25s , and
11745-424: The early 19th century, Paraguay was ruled by a series of authoritarian governments. This period ended with the disastrous Paraguayan War (1864–1870), during which the country lost half its prewar population and around 25–33% of its territory. In the 20th century, Paraguay faced another major international conflict—the Chaco War (1932–1935) against Bolivia—in which Paraguay prevailed. The country came under
11890-467: The first night air attack in South America when they raided the Bolivian outposts of Vitriones and San Juan, on 22 December 1934. The Paraguayan Navy has celebrated ever since the annual "Day of the Naval Air Service" on the anniversary of the action. The Bolivian Army deployed at least 10 locally-built patrol boats and transport vessels during the conflict, mostly to ship military supplies to
12035-617: The fort of Coímbra in 1775, and once abandoned, would monitor the Paraguayan border of the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata , the Fort Borbón founded in 1792. From the previously mentioned fortifications in 1806 only thirteen remained: Angostura, Boquerón, Herradura, Ibioca, Lambaré, Lobato, Macaimpam, Ñeembucú, Remolinos, San Antonio, San Fernando, Tacuaras, and Villeta, which would be abandoned around 1811. Following
12180-558: The fort of La Candelaria on February 2, 1537, in the southern area of the great "Jarayes Lagoon"—on a map from 1600, it is located opposite the future Fuerte Olimpo, south of the mouth of the Brazilian Nabileque River that rejoins the Paraguay River forming an island, but it could also have been between the latitudes 21° S and 19° S, possibly located at the midpoint, near Bahía Negra— but it was depopulated in August of
12325-409: The front lines via the Paraguay River , as well as by providing anti-aircraft support to transport ships and port facilities. The Humaitá and Paraguay , two Italian-built gunboats, ferried troops to Puerto Casado . On 22 December 1932, three Bolivian Vickers Vespas attacked the Paraguayan riverine outpost of Bahía Negra, on the Paraguay River, and killed an army colonel, but one of the aircraft
12470-453: The front on badly-maintained dirt roads. Hughes wrote that the Bolivian elite was well aware of the logistical problems but that throughout the war, Bolivia's leaders had a "fatalistic" outlook. It took for granted that the fact that the Bolivian Army had been trained by a German military mission whilst the Paraguayan Army had been trained by a French military mission, together with the tough nature of their Quechua and Aymara Indian conscripts and
12615-537: The geographical feature is a "bay," or rather, a wide bend formed by the Paraguay River moving westward, i.e., into the Chaco Boreal . The Chacoan margins have relatively high cliffs where stable hamlets have been established, whereas the eastern margins (now Brazilian ) are low and largely covered by wetlands that are a southern extension of the Great Pantanal. This point is a few kilometers southwest of
12760-466: The geography and difficult terrain of the Gran Chaco, combined with scarce water sources and inadequate logistical preparations, the Bolivian superiority in vehicles (water-cooled), tanks, and towed artillery did not prove decisive in the end. Thousands of truck and vehicle engines succumbed to the thick Chaco dust, which also jammed the heavy water-cooled machine guns employed by both sides. Having relatively few artillery pieces of its own, Paraguay purchased
12905-533: The heavily fortified Bolivian lines near Villa Montes with the aim of capturing the oilfields at Nancarainza , but they were beaten back by the Bolivian First Cavalry Division. The Paraguayans lost 350 men and were forced to withdraw north toward Boyuibé. Estigarribia claimed that the defeat was largely because of the mountainous terrain in which his forces were not used to fighting. On 6 March, Estigarribia again focused all his efforts on
13050-515: The hot, dry forest. The Bolivian Cavalry Corps had been considered one of the best units of the new army that was formed after the armistice. In February 1934, Emilio Sfeir—a Lebanese-Bolivian merchant residing in Jujuy , Argentina—masterminded the planning and execution of the capture, in Argentine territory, of Juan Valori, the most important Paraguayan spy of the Chaco War. After the collapse of
13195-465: The ill-fated attack on Nanawa and the failures at Fernández and Toledo, Kundt ordered an assault on Fortín Alihuatá . The attack on the fortín overwhelmed its few defenders. The capture of Alihuatá allowed the Bolivians to cut the supply route of the Paraguayan First Division. When the Bolivians were informed of the isolation of the First Division, they launched an attack on it. The attack led to
13340-466: The intervention of two other Bolivian regiments. The success of the Paraguayan Army led Paraguayan President Eusebio Ayala to travel to the Chaco to promote José Félix Estigarribia to the rank of general. In that meeting, Ayala approved Estigarribia's new offensive plan. On the other side, the Bolivians gave up their initial plan of reaching the Paraguayan capital, Asunción , and switched to defensive and attrition warfare. The Paraguayan Army executed
13485-399: The late 19th century. These indigenous tribes belonged to five distinct language families, which were the bases of their major divisions. Differing language speaking groups were generally competitive over resources and territories. They were further divided into tribes by speaking languages in branches of these families. Today 17 separate ethnolinguistic groups remain. The first Europeans in
13630-487: The long-ruling Colorado Party, won the presidential election to succeed Mario Abdo as the next President of Paraguay . On 15 August 2023, Santiago Peña was sworn in as Paraguay's new president. Paraguay is divided by the Río Paraguay into two well differentiated geographic regions. The eastern region (Región Oriental); and the western region, officially called Western Paraguay (Región Occidental) and also known as
13775-401: The municipality of Bahía Negra was approved by Law 2,563/05, thus becoming municipality number 233 of Paraguay. There is a river port, warehouses for the collection of regional products, some establishments for the basic industrialization of regional production (wood, soybean , leather), modest fishing, and significant cattle ranching activity. There is also some potential for ecotourism (on
13920-464: 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. On 26 March, eight student anti-government demonstrators were murdered, widely believed to have been carried out by Oviedo supporters. This increased opposition to Cubas, who resigned on 28 March. Senate President Luis González Macchi , a Cubas opponent,
14065-692: The name derives from the Payaguá people , for the Paraguay River was called the Payaguá-y , or "river of the Payaguás" by the Guaraní and hence would have come the name for the country; or that, also from the Guaraní, para would mean sea, gua , originates, and y , river, thus Paraguay would mean "river which gives birth to the sea". The indigenous Guaraní had been living in eastern Paraguay for at least
14210-430: The nomadic Guaycuru and other nomads from the 16th century onward. Most of these peoples were absorbed into the mestizo population in the 18th and 19th centuries. Paraguay overthrew the local Spanish administration on 14 May 1811. Paraguay's first dictator was José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia who ruled Paraguay from 1814 until his death in 1840, with very little outside contact or influence. He intended to create
14355-558: The northern Chaco through the Mamoré - Madeira system. The transport ships Presidente Saavedra and Presidente Siles steamed on the Paraguay River from 1927 to the beginning of the war, when both units were sold to private companies. The 50-ton armed launch Tahuamanu , based in the Mamoré-Madeira fluvial system, was briefly transferred to Laguna Cáceres to ferry troops downriver from Puerto Suárez and challenged for eight months
14500-491: The northern and the northeastern fronts, the Bolivian defenses focused on the south to avoid the fall of their war headquarters and supply base at Villa Montes . The Paraguayans launched an attack towards Ybybobó and isolated some of the Bolivian forces on the Pilcomayo River. The battle began on 28 December 1934 and lasted until early January 1935. It caused 200 Bolivian troops to be killed and 1,200 to surrender, but
14645-403: The opposition party. The opposition was unable to reach agreement on a common strategy regarding the elections, with some parties advocating abstention, and others calling for blank voting. The parties held numerous 'lightning demonstrations' ( mítines relámpagos ), especially in rural areas. Such demonstrations were gathered and quickly disbanded before the arrival of the police . In response to
14790-411: The opposition, ended with the removal of Lugo from office and Vice President Federico Franco assuming the duties of president. Lugo's rivals blamed him for the deaths of 17 people – eight police officers and nine farmers – in armed clashes after police were ambushed by armed peasants when enforcing an eviction order against rural trespassers. On 14 May 2011, Paraguay celebrated its bicentenary on
14935-972: The outset, the Paraguayan troops used a motley collection of small arms, including the German Maxim, the British Vickers , the Browning MG38 water-cooled machine guns, and the Danish Madsen light machine gun. The primary service rifle was the M1927 7.65 mm Paraguayan Long Rifle, a Mauser design based on the M1909 Argentine Long Rifle and manufactured by the Oviedo arsenal in Spain. The M1927 rifle, which tended to overheat in rapid fire, proved highly unpopular with
15080-425: The party. However, the party's constitution did not allow it. On 21 June 2012, impeachment proceedings against President Lugo began in the country's lower house, which was controlled by his opponents. Lugo was given less than twenty-four hours to prepare for the proceedings and only two hours in which to mount a defense. Impeachment was quickly approved and the resulting trial in Paraguay's Senate, also controlled by
15225-569: The pillaging of Asunción in 1869, the Imperial Brazilian Army packed up and transported the Paraguayan National Archives to Rio de Janeiro . Brazil's records from the war have remained classified. This has made Paraguayan history in the colonial and early national periods difficult to research and study. In 1904 the Liberal revolution against the rule of Colorados broke out. The Liberal rule started
15370-537: The population speak various dialects of the Guarani language alongside Spanish. Paraguay's GDP per capita PPP is the seventh-highest in South America. In a 2017 Positive Experience Index based on global polling data, Paraguay ranked as the "world's happiest place". The origin of the name Paraguay is uncertain. One version postulates the name takes from Guaraní paraguá "feather crown" and y "water" thus paraguaí "feather crown of waters". Other versions affirm that
15515-459: The port was annexed by Paraguayan forces and recovered by the Bolivian army in 1915, this would be one of the triggers for the very bloody Chaco War in which both litigating republics were involved, from September 9, 1932, to June 12, 1935. The conclusion of that war meant the definitive recognition of Paraguayan sovereignty over the now renamed Bahía Negra. On April 25, 2005, the creation of
15660-435: The power of colonial-era elites and to create a mixed-race or mestizo society. He cut off relations between Paraguay and the rest of South America. Because of Francia's restrictions of freedom, Fulgencio Yegros and several other Independence-era leaders in 1820 planned a coup d'état against Francia, who discovered the plot and had its leaders either executed or imprisoned for life. After Francia's death in 1840, Paraguay
15805-623: The proclamation of independence of Paraguay , this new state claimed jurisdiction over the Boreal Chaco up to the previous limits of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata with Brazil, that is, up to the Jaurú River, however, Brazilian military pressure made the effective Paraguayan limit by 1864 be found at the Negro or Bambural River of the northern Boreal Chaco. The conclusion of the War of
15950-463: The results in part to the virtual Colorado monopoly on the mass media. They noted that 53% of those polled indicated that there was an "uneasiness" in Paraguayan society. 74% believed that the political situation needed changes, including 45% who wanted a substantial or total change. Finally, 31% stated that they planned to abstain from voting in the February elections. On 3 February 1989, Stroessner
16095-562: The run. Yrendagüé was one of the few places with fresh water in that part of the Chaco. Although the Bolivian cavalry was marching towards La Faye from Yrendagüé, a Paraguayan force recaptured all of the wells in Yrendague. Therefore, upon their return, the exhausted and thirsty Bolivian troops found themselves without water. The already-weakened force fell apart. Many were taken prisoner, and many of those who had avoided capture died of thirst and exposure after they had wandered aimlessly through
16240-477: The same year. Later, in 1542, Irala passed through the area again, who further north and in the northern area of the same great lagoon —now La Gaiba— founded the city called "Puerto de los Reyes" on January 6, 1543, but it was also abandoned on March 23, 1544, by order of then adelantado Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca , and in its vicinity, in September 1568, the founder of Santa Cruz de la Sierra , Ñuflo de Chaves ,
16385-536: The scattered huts to the ground. The Bolivians retaliated with an air strike on Bahía Negra on 15 December, which caused few casualties and little damage. On 14 December, Bolivia seized Fortin Boquerón, which later would be the site of the first major battle of the campaign, and 15 Paraguayans died. A return to the status quo ante was eventually agreed on 12 September 1929 in Washington, DC, under pressure from
16530-571: The shipyards of Asunción. Fortifications were built, especially along the Apa River and in Gran Chaco . Following the death of Carlos Antonio López, these projects continued under his son Francisco Solano. In terms of socio-economic development, the country was dubbed "the most advanced Republic in South America", notably by the British judge and politician Sir Robert Phillimore . According to George Thompson, Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers in
16675-470: The siege area. A few Bolivian units managed to enter Fortín Boquerón with supplies, and the Bolivian Air Force dropped food and ammunition to the besieged soldiers. Having begun on 9 September, the siege ended when Fortín Boquerón finally fell on 29 September 1932. After the fall of Fortín Boquerón, the Paraguayans continued their offensive and executed a pincer movement , which forced some of
16820-468: The strategic defenses of Paraguay by developing the Fortress of Humaitá . The government hired more than 200 foreign technicians, who installed telegraph lines and railroads to aid the expanding steel, textile, paper and ink, naval construction, weapons and gunpowder industries. The Ybycuí foundry, completed in 1850, manufactured cannons, mortars and bullets of all calibers. River warships were built in
16965-417: The surprise of the Paraguayan command, which forced the abandonment of the whole line. A Paraguayan offensive towards Cañada Tarija managed to surround and to neutralize 1,000 Bolivian troops on 27 March. In May 1934, the Paraguayans detected a gap in the Bolivian defenses, which would allow them to isolate the Bolivian stronghold of Ballivián and to force its surrender. The Paraguayans worked all night to open
17110-497: The time, 2.06 million people lived in rural areas, more than half of the 4.1 million total population, and most were landless. The June 1992 constitution established a democratic system of government and dramatically improved protection of fundamental human rights. In May 1993, Colorado Party candidate Juan Carlos Wasmosy was elected as Paraguay's first civilian president in almost forty years, in what international observers deemed free and fair elections. With support from
17255-520: The upper hand because of its innovative style of fighting, centered on rapid marches and flanking encirclements, compared to Bolivia's more conventional strategy. In June 1932, the Paraguayan Army totaled about 4,026 men (355 combat officers, 146 surgeons and non-combatant officers, 200 cadets, 690 NCOs and 2,653 soldiers). Both racially and culturally, the Paraguayan Army was practically homogeneous. Almost all of its soldiers were European-Guaraní mestizos . Bolivia's army, however, were mostly descended from
17400-503: The upsurge in opposition activities, Stroessner condemned the Accord for advocating "sabotage of the general elections and disrespect of the law". He used national police and civilian vigilantes of the Colorado Party to break up demonstrations. A number of opposition leaders were imprisoned or otherwise harassed. Hermes Rafael Saguier [ es ] , another key leader of the PLRA ,
17545-435: The war ended, Bolivia some 2,500). Both sides resorted to entrenched strongpoints and used barbed wire, mortars, machineguns, and mines with interlocking fields of fire. Paraguay's war effort was total. Buses were commandeered to transport troops, wedding rings were donated to buy weapons, and Paraguay had by 1935 widened conscription to include 17-year-olds and policemen. Perhaps the most important advantage enjoyed by Paraguay
17690-449: The war was the catastrophic loss of population. At least 50% of Paraguayans died during the conflict, numbers to which it took many decades for the country to return. Of the disaster suffered by the Paraguayans at the outcome of the war, William D. Rubinstein wrote: "The normal estimate is that of a Paraguayan population of somewhere between 450,000 and 900,000, only 220,000 survived the war, of whom only 28,000 were adult males." During
17835-401: The war". The historian Bret Gustafson, on the other hand, argues that "the blurred lines between the bank and the oil industry show that [Standard Oil] did indeed finance the Bolivian build-up, even if instigating the war was left to Bolivian generals." The first confrontation between the two countries dates back to 1885, when the Bolivian entrepreneur Miguel Araña Suárez founded Puerto Pacheco,
17980-414: The war's origins, the British historian Matthew Hughes argued against the thesis that Bolivian and Paraguayan governments were the "puppets" of Standard Oil and Royal Dutch Shell respectively by writing: "In fact, there is little hard evidence available in the company and government archives to support the theory that oil companies had anything to do with causing the war or helping one side or the other during
18125-490: The western bank and two on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River in 1761, although these last two did not last long, all around Bahía Negra, to which were later added, the Franciscan reduction of Nuestra Señora del Refugio de Egilechigó (1769) or after its abandonment in 1775, the "Fort Itapucú" (1776-ca.1789) —these latter 15 km northwest of the future Fuerte Olimpo— which was erected by the Luso-Brazilian foundation of
18270-445: Was already in the conflict's zone, with 6,000 men. The breaking of the fragile status quo in the disputed areas of the Chaco by Bolivia convinced Paraguay that a diplomatic solution on agreeable terms was impossible. Paraguay gave its general staff orders to recapture the three forts. In August, Paraguay mobilized over 10,000 troops and sent them into the Chaco region. Paraguayan Lieutenant Colonel José Félix Estigarribia prepared for
18415-413: Was centralized and led by the state-owned national dockyards, managed by José Bozzano . The Paraguayan Army received its first consignment of carumbe'i grenades in January 1933. The Paraguayans took advantage of their ability to communicate over the radio in Guaraní, a language not spoken by the average Bolivian soldier. Paraguay had little trouble in transporting its army in large barges and gunboats on
18560-605: Was chosen as the main target of the Bolivian offensive and was to be followed by the command centre at Isla Poí . Their capture would allow Bolivia to reach the Paraguay River and to endanger the Paraguayan city of Concepción . The capture of the fortines of Corrales, Toledo, and Fernández by the Bolivian Second Corps were also part of Kundt's offensive plan. In January 1933, the Bolivian First Corps began its attack on Fortín Nanawa. The stronghold
18705-492: Was considered by the Paraguayans to be the backbone of their defenses. It had zig-zag trenches; kilometres of barbed wire; and many machine-gun nests, some of which were embedded in tree trunks. The Bolivian troops had stormed the nearby Paraguayan outpost of Mariscal López, which isolated Nanawa from the south. On 20 January 1933, Kundt, who personally commanded the Bolivian force, launched six to nine aircraft and 6,000 unhorsed cavalry supported by 12 Vickers machine guns . However,
18850-546: Was defeated and forced to surrender at Ingavi, in the northern front, after a last attempt had been made to reach the Paraguay River. On 12 June, the day that the ceasefire agreement was signed, Paraguayan troops were entrenched only 15 km away from the Bolivian oil fields in Cordillera Province . Paraguay in South America (grey) Paraguay ( / ˈ p ær ə ɡ w aɪ / ; Spanish pronunciation: [paɾaˈɣwaj] ), officially
18995-453: Was extremely protectionist, never accepted loans from abroad and levied high tariffs against imported foreign products. This protectionism made the society self-sufficient, and it also avoided the debt suffered by Argentina and Brazil. Slavery existed in Paraguay, although not in great numbers, until 1844, when it was legally abolished in the new constitution. Francisco Solano López , the son of Carlos Antonio López, replaced his father as
19140-508: Was fought in the semi-arid Chaco. The bloodiest interstate military conflict fought in South America in the 20th century, it was fought between two of its poorest countries, both of which had lost territory to neighbours in 19th-century wars. During the war, both landlocked countries faced difficulties shipping arms and supplies through neighbouring countries. Bolivia, in particular, faced external trade problems and poor internal communications. Although Bolivia had lucrative mining income and
19285-496: Was imprisoned for four months in 1987 on charges of sedition. In early February 1988, police arrested 200 people attending a National Coordinating Committee meeting in Coronel Oviedo . Laíno and several other opposition figures were arrested before dawn on the day of the election, 14 February, and held for twelve hours. The government declared Stroessner's re-election with 89% of the vote. The opposition attributed
19430-701: Was killed. The 17th century marked the beginning of the Bandeirantes incursions from Brazil, which caused the Spaniards of the Paraguayan governorate to abandon the city of Santiago de Jerez in 1640 and the Jesuit missions of the Itatín region in 1659, leading to the last two survivors setting up in the Boreal Chaco: San Ignacio de Caaguazú III or Itaty —about 8 km northwest of present-day Bahía Negra— and Nuestra Señora de Fe III —about 12 km from
19575-505: Was largely ignored by Kundt and other Bolivian Army generals, who tended to dismiss such reports as exaggerations by overzealous airmen. Four Junkers Ju 52s were purchased by Bolivia, which used the German transports mainly for medical evacuation and air supply. The Ju 52s alone delivered more than 4,400 tons of cargo to the front. The Paraguayan Navy played a key role in the conflict by carrying thousands of troops and tons of supplies to
19720-591: Was marked by extensive human rights abuses. Stroessner and the Colorado party ruled the country from 1954 to 1989. The dictator oversaw an era of economic expansion, but also had a poor human rights and environmental record (see "Political History"). Paraguay actively participated in Operation Condor . Torture and death for political opponents was routine. After his overthrow, the Colorado continued to dominate national politics until 2008. The splits in
19865-481: Was not allowed to run and was detained in jail. His former running mate, Raúl Cubas , became the Colorado Party's candidate, and was elected in May in elections deemed by international observers to be free and fair. One of Cubas' first acts after taking office in August was to commute Oviedo's sentence and release him. In December 1998, Paraguay's Supreme Court declared these actions unconstitutional. In this tense atmosphere,
20010-460: Was overthrown in a military coup headed by General Andrés Rodríguez . As president, Rodríguez instituted political, legal, and economic reforms and initiated a rapprochement with the international community. Reflecting the deep hunger of the rural poor for land, hundreds immediately occupied thousands of acres of unused territories belonging to Stroessner and his associates; by mid-1990, 19,000 families occupied 340,000 acres (138,000 ha). At
20155-431: Was peacefully sworn in as president the same day. In 2003, Nicanor Duarte was elected as president. For the 2008 general elections, the Colorado Party was favored in polls. Their candidate was Minister of Education Blanca Ovelar , the first woman to be nominated as a candidate for a major party in Paraguayan history. After sixty years of Colorado rule, voters chose Fernando Lugo , a former Roman Catholic Bishop and not
20300-506: Was ready to overpower the Paraguayans. General Hans Kundt , a former German officer who had fought on the Eastern Front of World War I , was called by Salamanca to lead the Bolivian counteroffensive. Kundt had served intermittently as military advisor to Bolivia since the beginning of the century and had established good relationships with officers of the Bolivian Army and the country's political elites. The Paraguayan Fortín Nanawa
20445-435: Was ruled by various military officers under a new junta , until Carlos Antonio López (allegedly Rodríguez de Francia's nephew) came to power in 1841. López modernized Paraguay and opened it to foreign commerce. He signed a non-aggression pact with Argentina and officially declared independence of Paraguay in 1842. After López's death in 1862, power was transferred to his eldest son, Francisco Solano López . The regime of
20590-441: Was sailing the Paraguay River near Puerto Mihanovich . The Brazilian government sent 11 naval planes to the area, and its navy began to convoy shipping on the river. The Paraguayan navy air service was also very active in the conflict by harassing Bolivian troops deployed along the northern front with flying boats . The aircraft were moored at Bahía Negra Naval Air Base, and consisted of two Macchi M.18s . The seaplanes carried out
20735-516: Was shot down by the gunboat Tacuary . Both surviving Vespas met another gunboat, the Humaitá , while they were flying downriver. Paraguayan sources claim that one of them was damaged. Conversely, the Bolivian army reported that the Humaitá limped back to Asunción seriously damaged. The Paraguayan Navy admitted that Humaitá was struck by machine gun fire from the aircraft but claimed that its armor shield averted damage. Shortly before 29 March 1933,
20880-514: Was that the Paraguayans had a rail network running to the Chaco with five narrow-gauge railroads totaling some 428 kilometres (266 mi) running from the ports on the Paraguay River to the Chaco, which allowed the Paraguayan Army to bring men and supplies to the front far more effectively than the Bolivians ever managed. In 1928, the British legation in La Paz reported to London that it took the Bolivian Army two weeks to march their men and supplies to
21025-719: Was toppled and replaced by a Colorado government under General Venancio Flores on 22 February 1865. Afterward, the Argentine Republic , the Empire of Brazil and the Republic of Uruguay signed the Secret Treaty of the Triple Alliance against the Paraguayan Government on 1 May 1865. On 24 May 1866, the Battle of Tuyutí led to the loss of 6,000 men when a Paraguayan attack was repelled by
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