The Paraguayan Civil War (also known as the Barefoot Revolution and the Third Paraguayan Civil War) was a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

that lasted from 7 March to 20 August 1947.

Background

In 1940

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Higinio Morínigo Higinio Nicolás Morínigo Martínez (January 11, 1897 – January 27, 1983) was a military officer, politician and Paraguayan dictator. He participated in the Chaco War (1932–1935) as a prominent officer of the Paraguayan Army. After the wa ...

suspended the constitution and banned

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

. Resistance to his rule took the form of

general strikes A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...

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.

Conflict

The Febreristas made common cause with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and the

Paraguayan Communist Party Paraguayan Communist Party (in Spanish: ''Partido Comunista Paraguayo'') is a communist political party in Paraguay. PCP was founded on February 19, 1928. Later it was recognized as a section of the Communist International. It was brutally suppr ...

. Former Paraguayan president and founder of the Febrerista Party

Rafael Franco Rafael de la Cruz Franco Ojeda (October 22, 1896 – September 16, 1973) was a Paraguayan military officer and politician, served as Provisional President of Paraguay from February 17, 1936, to August 13, 1937, being also the historical leader ...

led a rebellion that mushroomed into a

as the Paraguayan armed forces, which had previously remained loyal, split. 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. 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 Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

under

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected ...

gave vital support to the government without which they might well have fallen. On April 27 the navy joined the rebellion and shelled

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

; they were fought off by the artillery division that had come from

Paraguarí Paraguarí (; gn, Paraguari) is a city, '' distrito'' and capital of Paraguarí Department in Paraguay, located 66 km from the country's capital, Asunción. At the 2002 census it had a population of 22,154.Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan army officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989. Stroessner led a coup d'état on 4 May 1954 with t ...

. 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.

References

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

External links

Armed conflict database entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paraguayan Civil War 1947 in Paraguay Conflicts in 1947 Civil wars involving the states and peoples of South America Civil wars post-1945 Coup-based civil wars Rebellions in South America Wars involving Argentina Wars involving Paraguay Proxy wars

Background

Conflict

See also

References

External links