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| [...] In his writings Mendez described himself as remote from political intrigue and as surprised by moves made against him. He was in fact a consummate politician, able to make links, to find common ground with opponents and convert them, if only temporarily. His powerful personality aroused intense devotion and strong antagonism, especially from those with vested interests in retaining wealth and position. Paraguayan politics are more concerned with the strategy of gaining or retaining power than with political theory, but Mendez consistently maintained his commitment to democracy and social justice. He like other paraguayan reformists looked back to the regimes of Francia and the Lopezes, when the peasants owned their land, as an ideal time. He remained true to his origins and had a genuine commitment to improving the living standards of the peasants and workers, by regulating prices and wages and by strengthening unions. In his long bank reports he gave unprecedently detailed information and wanted people to understand and participate in politics, as he had learned to do. ... All this concern, in which he was at first almost alone among the wealthy and aristocratic Colorados, earned him the epithet of 'communist'. He was not a communist and condemned its totalitarianism in his voluminous writings. He remained a loyal Colorado but a reformist one. He was a large and warm man with many gifts. He composed Guarany poetry and sang it, accompanying it on the guitar [...] Rev. Raymond Harris London March 17, 1986 |
| Epifanio, along with another creator, Mauricio Cardozo Ocampo. musica paraguaya, part of his songs |
| EPIFANIO MENDEZ: A GREAT PARAGUAYAN [...] He was born in 1917 of humble parents; born as he himself said, a Colorado and became an active party member in 1939. He educated himself, reading widely in philosophy, religion, history, politics and economics. His superior intellectual powers and prodigious energy brought him to the notice of the party leaders in the capital and when Morinigo cracked down on the Colorados in 1941, Mendez as an inconspicuous young man from the country, was made secretary of an Emergency Committee, which kept the party machinery ticking over and informed the absent party leaders of developments in the capital ... [...] When Morinigo turned to the Colorados and Febreristas in 1946, Mendez' qualities as a thinker and man of action were already evident. He was involved in the coup of January 1947 when the Colorados, using their control of the Cavalry and Police and the militia bands, seized power and carried along with them Morinigo, who finally turned from his military supporters to back the stronger side. The Colorado militias enabled Morinigo to defeat the ensuing Army revolt which was supported by 90% of the officers and with which the Febreristas and Communists aligned themselves [...] |