In the endless kaleidoscope of statist-induced disasters, morbid fascination often lingers on mega-maniacal images and scenes, those of Hitler and the `Final Solution`, Stalin and the `Gulag Archipelago`, Mao with the `Great Leap Forward` or Cortes with the `New World` campaign. But there are also less exposed but equally or even more horrific images like those of Pol Pot`s `Killing Fields`, the private estate of evil of Leopold II of Belgium or the megalomania of Francisco Solano López.
Who the fuck is Francisco Solano López?
This is a historical footnote of a footnote, a forgotten son of a bitch and a psychopath of the highest order who nevertheless had behind him an incredible achievement, which was the almost complete depopulation of the territory over which he had power, as dictator of Paraguay from 1862 to 1870. Coming to power as a unanimous choice of the Paraguayan Congress at the age of 32, after the death of his father Carlos - Francisco was the latest freak in a long line of rulers who had ruled this South American republic almost dynastically since it gained independence from Spain. Francisco would have remained a classic Latin dictator with all the stereotypical attributes if he had not traveled around Europe in his youth. Those travels and visits to various metropolises infected him with the virus of grandiosity. Especially Paris with the still fresh memories of the great military leader, Napoleon Bonaparte - was crucial for the young heir to enter into a serious militaristic mania.
Paraguay was founded as a result of Jesuit missionary efforts to create a functional society that would be a mixture of local Indian traditions and the `input` of new colonists who believed in an earthly paradise. Although probably unique in their sincerity and courage to follow in the footsteps of Jesus in the `new world`, to treat the natives as equals and even to `procreate and multiply` together - the Jesuit `acolytes` around the Paraguay and Paraná rivers were unable to avoid the fate of almost all newly created states in the first wave of decolonization (the one in Latin America in the early 19th century). And it was a dry one - almost everywhere local oligarchs and large landowners with their dictatorial dynasties came to power.
That fate also befell Paraguay, and the peak of madness would follow in one of the most bizarre wars since the dawn of civilization to this day - known as the `War of the Triple Alliance` or more simply `The Paraguayan War`. After decades of pushing extreme nationalism, chauvinism and jingoism, reinforced by extreme militarization of society and the building of the armed forces, all mixed with delusional situations (the proclamation of a Navy in a country that...is landlocked, for example) and dreams of glorious military leadership - the result came by itself. Those were 90,000 soldiers (in a country with an estimated 850,000 inhabitants!?) ready for action. All that was waiting was a spark that would ignite the madness.
And that spark naturally ignited. But as luck would have it - it happened in the near-neighboring Uruguay where there was an internal conflict due to an attempt by pseudo-liberals to stage a coup d'état, supported by the Brazilian government. The conservative government in Montevideo was helped by the Paraguayan government because the delusion of becoming a regional factor was in full swing in the head of Senor Lopez. Usually such a conflict of interests is left to the domain of diplomacy, but Lopez had no intention of relying on diplomats, so the man was hardly waiting for an occasion to start transforming into Guarani-Napoleon! The Brazilian authorities sent military aid to the pseudo-liberal side in the conflict in Uruguay, and the state of Argentina also got involved in the story, also on the side of the pseudo-liberals because after all it was a matter of chaos in the Rio de la Plata and not somewhere far away.
Uruguay's conservative leader was overthrown in a mix of coup and foreign intervention, forcing the "trump card" of official Asuncion to emerge out of the woodwork...And so, "surprised and offended" by the interference of the Brazilian government in what he perceived as his domain of interests, Lopez decided to show his teeth. Since Brazilian forces did not pay much attention to Lopez's ultimatums, on November 12, 1864, a Brazilian ship sailing on the Paraguay River was forcibly seized. Tensions were growing and on December 14 of the same year - the Paraguayan state declared war on Imperial Brazil! About 10,000 soldiers supported by river warships entered Mato Grosso, the most backward of all the backward Brazilian provinces. There are places in Mato Grosso that have not been visited by a humans to this day. The infrastructure was non-existent, communications were not even a afterthought - the only blood supply was the rivers and their tributaries. But there were several fairly profitable diamond and gold mines. The Paraguayans wisely bypassed the capital Cuiaba and after several unequal battles in which they defeated the Brazilian soldiers and volunteers - they became masters of part of Mato Grosso, the ultimate neverland of South America.
The next step in the construction of the new empire was to arrange the situation in Uruguay in their favor. Francisco López decided on a military invasion in order to restore power to his `trump card` and for this purpose requested the passage of 20,000 soldiers through Argentine territory to reach Uruguay. As expected, the request was refused, a fact that greatly angered the quick-tempered Francisco who therefore declared war on Argentina and in April 1865 began an offensive towards the northeast of Argentina. At first, everything seemed rosy, the Paraguayan army was winning victories and in addition to Mato Grosso it also held a significant territory in Argentina. Meanwhile, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay signed a military alliance, hence the name of the war itself...
The combined forces of the three armies finally managed to hold off the Paraguayan units in the bloody battle of Yatay in the Corrientes region, Argentina. There, López suffered a heavy defeat and it seemed that the war would be short-lived. But López did not think so, leaving an entire Corps to defend the acquired territories in the Uruguayan region. That unit was surrounded by the allies and after several bloody months of constant attacks, the Paraguayans surrendered, tormented by hunger, disease and lack of ammunition. More Allied soldiers died due to the chaotic three-tier command system and the imbecilic incompetence of the command staff than due to Guarani heroism. The Brazilian government decided that the moment was right to return to Mato Grosso and sent several thousand soldiers to launch a counterattack. After a hard journey by river and through fierce jungles, decimated by disease and fatigue, the Brazilian units met only sporadic resistance. The reason for this was that thousands of Paraguayan soldiers had already died of malaria, typhus and cholera, some had retreated to Paraguayan territory, and only a few fortified outposts remained, a minor problem for the Brazilian army. Naturally, after regaining Mato Grosso, the Brazilian government launched an invasion of Paraguay itself. But there they were met by newly mobilized and fresh troops of the `genius` López, who easily managed to stop the invaders.
The turning point of the war was the Battle of Riachuelo in June 1865, a river battle with warships and a simultaneous land confrontation that ended in disaster for the Paraguayan `Navy`. The Brazilians, already superior in river warfare, also dragged a bloody steam Frigate (!?) from the Atlantic to the Paraná River, an undertaking suitable for a Werner Herzog film adaptation. Control of the Paraná, which was a major artery of military logistics, gave the Allies the initiative for the rest of the war. After that victory, the allies with about 60,000 soldiers invade Paraguay. In the initial fighting, the hosts manage to hold off the invaders at the cost of great casualties. But the end was Nigh, nevertheless. In the new situation, dictator Lopez shows modest signs of rationality and in September 1866 he calls a peace conference. Francisco's period of lucidity lasts only until the conference itself, at which he rejects all the proposals of the allies and the war continues...
And the winds of war have their whims that are paid for with new and new victims, suffering and agony. Immediately after the unsuccessful conference, the allies continue their offensive through Paraguay despite fierce resistance and heavy losses. The unexpected battle of Curupaiti takes place, a relatively well-fortified position that the allied forces are attacking. A total debacle ensued for the Allies, especially the Brazilian Imperial Army, in one of the most humiliating defeats in modern military history. Paraguay lost 54 dead and 68 wounded, while the Allies lost around 4,500 dead and an unknown number of wounded, missing and deserted soldiers. The Paraguayans did not accept white flags but killed everything that moved, thus committing a brutal war crime...Under 'normal' circumstances, such a catastrophe would have changed the course of the war in favor of the victor - but in this case that was unlikely. Due to the losses and the small reserve fund of male military personnel, the Paraguayan government began to recruit anything with a pair of testicles, from 14 to 70 years old, the more lightly wounded were hastily `patched up` and sent to the front, and even women also appeared on the battle lines.
The Allies had at least 30 times more population than Paraguay, access to the sea and the possibility of purchasing weapons and equipment. Paraguay was surrounded and without any way to purchase anything. The Brazilian river fleet controlled all the rivers and tributaries and slowly but surely the Allies conquered part by part of Paraguay. Strange but true - the Paraguayan `patriots` often fought to the last man, inflicting heavy losses on the aggressors. However, this was only a postponement of the inevitable...Exactly on New Year's Day, January 1, 1869, Asuncion also fell. The Allies began to celebrate the end of the war and the final victory...but that was not how Lopez and part of the army thought, who retreated through the countryside and began a guerrilla campaign.
With no more adult soldiers to mobilize, Paraguayan officers recruited children between the ages of 12 and 15, whose beards and mustaches were drawn with charcoal to make them look 'adult', and as a substitute for rifles, they were given knives, axes, pitchforks, sticks, hammers...and carved pieces of wood in the shape of rifles, painted to give the illusion that they were real rifles. It is not known whether they seriously expected that the experienced Allied soldiers would be fooled by the wooden rifles, but in any case, it must be taken into account that the madness had already taken deep roots, more than in many other wars. Despair (the Hitler Youth level in April 1945) was a sad and futile thing - but it stopped the Allies for a moment. Lopez managed to gather about 25,000 children, old people and women in an attempt to make a last mega-heroic last stand with which he would achieve a new peace conference. Several battles and several defeats later, the unlucky Paraguayan Bonaparte was encircled in a village in March 1870. with less than 300 soldiers. Refusing to surrender, although wounded - he personally led the last suicidal attack. Lopez, unlike his idol - fell on the battlefield perforated by bullets, which ended the career of the undoubtedly brave although not the brightest dictator who started a war against three countries simultaneously.
Less than a month after Lopez's death - the war was over. And the consequences, taken in percentage terms, exceed those of Pol Pot's ``Year Zero'' and those of Leopold II's ``Congo Free State.'' Paraguay lost part of its territory, but was allowed to continue to ``state''. At the peak of its success, the Paraguayan state had an army of 150,000 soldiers, which is on the limit of the possible, if you don't know what was meant by ``soldier.'' It was a collection of males from 12 to over 70 years old, the wounded hastily patched up and the ill, and even women! The following year after the end of the war, a census was conducted that showed 220,000 inhabitants, of which only 29,000 were adult men over 18! This means that Francisco Solano Lopez and his junta lost three quarters of the total population of their country, and the ratio of adult men to women immediately after the war was almost 5:1 in favor of women!
The figure of 630,000 dead does not include the newborns from 1864-1871 who died of starvation, disease, and infection. The Allies lost at least 100,000 soldiers and civilians, making the final toll, while elusive, certainly over 750,000 dead, eclipsing the American Civil War that was being fought simultaneously to the north and making the Paraguayan War the bloodiest in the modern history of the Pan-American continent. Some historians argue that Paraguay has never fully recovered from that war to this day. Allied soldiers recounted apocalyptic scenes around Asunción in the twilight of the conflict. Jaguars, creatures extremely reluctant to expose themselves in urban environments, feasted on the wounded and sick in the streets. Packs of dogs dragged the corpses of children, leaving a bloody trail through the dusty alleys of the statist center.
I don't believe there is a greater symbol of total catastrophe than a scene in which Jaguars of all creatures are roaming around, attracted by the scent of death, nonchalantly moving down the street and choosing their victims. For weeks and months there was no one to bury the corpses that rotted in the hot sun, attracting biblical scenes through the infestation of insects and rodents. And those men who survived were walking skeletons, scarred faces, mutilated shadows staggering listlessly in an unknown direction, mental ruins powerless to do anything...Again, as on so many occasions, fantasy is powerless before reality in terms of horror.
The little infrastructure that existed was completely destroyed, Democide of epic proportions, the loss of almost the entire literate and educated population, the entire adult male workforce needed to restore the system laid to rest, agriculture and livestock destroyed, and heavy taxes imposed on the use of river routes - all of this meant a perfect recipe for decades and decades of suffering for the people there to an extent that is difficult to understand, painful to perceive, disgusting to contemplate. And as can be concluded from the above-posted honorary postage stamp in honor of Lopez on the 100th anniversary of the end of the war - the statist madness in that forgotten country is still strong and celebrates the `heroism` of the `patriotic leader` who `fought heroically on three fronts` and was on his way to becoming a diminutive Napoleon.
The price, i.e. the Democide of three-quarters of the population of a sad, insignificant and suffering territory, together with the suffering that, if there was such a thing as hell - would be a standard for measuring `pain` among the devils on duty by the cauldrons - was the result of the pathological daydreams of the representatives of the state government, nothing more. But none of that is the most regrettable thing in all that unimportant history. It is not the Jaguars tearing off arms and legs in the streets, the soldiers shitting their intestines because of Cholera, 12-year-old children who, with a beard drawn with charcoal and a wooden toy rifle, are blown up by a grenade, nor hunger nor agonizing and slow death.
The most regrettable thing is the unwavering faith in the idea of statism despite everything.
Viva el Estado!
(Roger Mortis, 118)
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