Justo Pastor Benítez (28 May 1897 – 7 February 1963) was a Paraguayan historian, writer, and Liberal politician.

Biography

On 28 May 1897, Benítez was born in

Asunción Asunción (, ) 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 Asunción in the north ...

. He studied law at the

Universidad Nacional de Asunción The Universidad Nacional de Asunción or Mbo'ehaovusu Tetãgua Paraguaygua, abbreviated UNA, anglicized as, The National University of Asuncion, is a public university founded in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Founded in 1889, it is the oldest and most ...

(where he would later be a professor), was editor for the El Liberal and El Diario periodicals from 1919 onwards, a national deputy between 1920 and 1927 and Minister of Justice in 1930; in the 1930s, he would occupy several other cabinet positions. In 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. For example, while the political systems ...

, he formed a group with , R. Antonio Ramos, Efraím Cardozo, and Julio César Chaves., doi-access=free In May 1932, as

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

and responding to

Carlos Saavedra Lamas Carlos Saavedra Lamas (November 1, 1878 – May 5, 1959) was an Argentine academic and politician, and in 1936, the first Latin American Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, Saavedra Lamas was a descendant of an early Ar ...

(the Argentine foreign minister)'s inquiry on Paraguayan intentions in the

Chaco War The Chaco War (, law of war The law of war is a component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of hostilities (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, ...

and that the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

monitored the conflict fairly. In June 1934, Benítez was replaced as, like his predecessor Daniel Sánchez Bustamante, he advocated for a peaceful resolution to the conflict; he switched posts with Rogelio Ibarra, remaining in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

for the remainder of the conflict. In October 1938, he rejected the ambassadorship to Bolivia under Félix Paiva as a part of the Liberal refusal to join Paiva's proposed coalition. In the late 1950s, he resided in Brazil. By then, he had served in various Liberal positions including national deputy, party director, and cabinet minister. On 7 February 1963, he died in Asunción.

Works

* * * (on the Chaco War) * * * (prologue) * *

Undated

* ''La constitución de 1870'' * ''Ensayo sobre el liberalismo'' * ''La cuenca del Plata'' * ''Estigarribia, el soldado del Chaco'' * ''El solar guaraní'' * ''Carlos Antonio López'' * ''La revolución de Mayo en Paraguay'' * ''Mancebos de la tierra'' Sources:

Notes

Sources

Bibliography