| In reference to the rebels' background, the paper La Razon, Asuncion April 11, 1947, said: [...] Came to life trying to inherit the oligarchy's privileges, out of the process displacing their parents from enjoying them; they are the balance of the Liberals' bankruptcy [...]". Despite the tremendous sacrifice, we've been however on the verge of defeat; the rebellious forces made a spectacular maneuver which merited at that time the comments from the London BBC. The Colorado attack on the north over the city of Concepcion -the rebels' stronghold- was unproductive; the anti-colorado units had taken off reappearing massively on the south over Asuncion -the country's capital- which was almost defenseless. The Colorados' troops having been on the north, were not able to come back that soon to defend the city; the rebels could've entered it quickly winning the civil war, but they delayed because of their own factional contradictions. Finally, a new mobilization in Asuncion, detained the assault even more, thus giving the Colorados enough time to return, catch their rearguard and annihilate them. That was the end (Aug. '47) A. Absolute victory of civil power over militarism, by then almost an unprecedented fact in Latin America. The 1947s civil war, a turning point in paraguayan politics, ended with the total destruction of the old guard Armed Forces, which in the period 1940/47 was characterized by its evident nazi-fascist proclivity. The casualties during the conflict were about 2000 from both fronts, together. B. The birth of a new Armed Forces that needed to be fully professionalized and is logically comprised -mainly- of the triumphant ones: the Colorados. C. The factual Coloradismo's commitment to justifying before the paraguayans, its presence as a revolutionary political power, by making true the legitimist ideals for which they fought and won. Any organization in this stage must first have legitimized its own leadership in order to proceed with the national goals. Unfortunately, after the conclusion of the civil war, the seizure of the party Convention took place on Nov 18, 1947, by the Guionistas who forcibly expelled the legitimately elected authorities: the Democrats. Consequently, the Colorado Party split, and beyond doubt, with Morinigo's assent. In turn, the president was prematurely dismissed on June 3, 1948, victim of his own political maneuvers, since the partisan schedule considered him ending his term, to then start the country's institutional normalization. The preceding period did not help much in paving the way for the achievement of our ideals. Following Morinigo's fall, we had various transitional governments until after the dawn of February 26, 1949, when the winning Colorado leadership in the Nov '47 Convention is finally established into office. Felipe Molas Lopez, briefly, and later Dr. Federico Chaves, assumed the presidency for the majority Democratic faction. The circumstances under which the Colorado Party came to power were the worst imaginable: anarchy and a devastated economy ... Mere cessation of hostilities was not the enough basis for a realistic and lasting peace, we knew it ... Therefore in this period, the pacification of paraguayans as a priority for democratization is vigorously undertaken. |
| CONSECUENCES OF THE CIVIL WAR |
| THE COLORADOS' ADMINISTRATION (1949/55) |