José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia

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José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, "El Supremo"

José Gaspar Tomás Rodríguez de Francia (born January 6, 1766 in Asunción , † September 20, 1840 in Asunción) was dictator of Paraguay from 1814 to 1840 .

Life

Rodríguez de Francia studied in Argentina at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba theology and a doctorate in canon law . He then held a professorship and worked as a lawyer in Asunción. Rodríguez de Francia was one of the leading figures in Paraguay's struggle for independence from Spain (1811). After gaining independence, he was elected to the Board of Directors in 1811. From October 3, 1814, until May 31, 1816, he was appointed temporary dictator, and from June 1, 1816, dictator for life, until his death on September 20, 1840.

Its aim was the economic development of the country and a "government of the people" to form. During and after Paraguay's struggle for independence, the rulers in Buenos Aires blocked shipping on the most important rivers of Paraguay, the Río Paraguay and the Río Paraná . They also imposed heavy import duties on goods from Paraguay, which they viewed as a breakaway province. They banned all trade in tobacco, the country's most important export good alongside mate tea, in order to force Paraguay to give up its independence struggle.

Rodríguez de Francia did not give in to the pressure, however, but set the course for the country's agricultural self- sufficiency in order to achieve self-sufficiency independent of foreign trade . He had cotton grown and a textile industry built to supply the population with clothing. In order to compensate for the missing state income from the export proceeds, he expropriated the foreign traders in Paraguay from 1816 by means of a high tax or by withdrawing the residence permit. This led to a conspiracy of the merchant oligarchy against him between 1820 and 1821. A murder plot involving numerous patrician families was uncovered against him. He then had many members of the country's elite, which rose after independence, arrested or executed and their property confiscated. He distributed the land, which formerly belonged to the Spanish crown, to smallholders at a low price in order to promote agricultural production. These measures led to a decline in trade, but agriculture flourished. The livestock industry expanded and the mate and tobacco industries were strengthened. Rodríguez de Francia suppressed the religious orders and closed monasteries. He sealed off his country almost completely, even entry and exit was prohibited.

In order to achieve his goal of a people's government, he introduced a new electoral system for representatives. In this, the representatives of the privileged classes formed the minority compared to the representatives of the "popular classes". Only men aged 23 and over were allowed to vote, women and slaves had no right to vote. He carried out a profound overhaul of the administrative apparatus, indicting those who had committed an act of corruption and returning what was illegally acquired. To protect the lower classes, he introduced the office of “defender of the poor”, whose task it was also to represent the interests of the slaves who brought complaints against their “owners”. In 1822 he also created the office of “Defender of the Indians” and then that of “Defense of Minors”. He kept all senior administrators under strict scrutiny to ensure that office was carried out honestly and efficiently. He even removed his brother Pedro from the office of administrator of Itá because he was found to be incompetent.

This policy led to the fact that there was hardly any poverty in Paraguay - but also no wealth - and a kind of Latin American special path was taken, which represented a departure from the market liberalism promoted by Great Britain in Latin America. But Francia's personal regiment also set a precedent for the future: it left behind virtually no existing administrative apparatus, which meant that only personal dictatorships by strong military rulers were subsequently possible. His outburst of anger - often quoted in Latin America - is characteristic: "I find myself in a country of idiots where I have to do everything by myself."

Literary reception

The story and personality of Gaspar Rodríguez de Francias inspired the Paraguayan writer Augusto Roa Bastos to write his 1974 novel Yo, el Supremo (I, the Almighty).

Uwe Timm describes dictator Francia in the third chapter ("The Utopia of Dr. José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia") of his book: The Crazy in the Dunes. About utopia and literature .

literature

  • Justo Pastor Benítez: La vida solitaria del Dr. José Gaspar de Francia, dictador del Paraguay . Servilibro, Asunción 2010. ISBN 978-99953-0201-6 .
  • Julio César Chaves: El supremo dictador. Biography of José Gaspar de Francia . 3rd ed., Ed. Nice, Buenos Aires 1958.
  • Georges Fournial: José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia. L'incorruptible des Amériques . Messidor / Editions sociales, Paris 1985. ISBN 2-209-05752-3 .
  • Ralf Höller : José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (1766-1840). A dictator as a benefactor of his people . Same in: I am the fight. Rebels and revolutionaries from six centuries . Structure TB Verlag, Berlin 2001. P. 131 ff.

Individual evidence

  1. Hace 253 años nacía el dictador abc.com.py , January 6, 2019, accessed March 19, 2019.
  2. El Paraguay autosuficiente lanacion.com.py , February 22, 2017, accessed March 19, 2019.
  3. Paraguay: Gobierno del Dr. José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia Alejandra Sanjurjo: Naturalización del capitalismo en pueblos de América del Sur , 2014, p. 154.
  4. Julio César Chaves: El supremo dictador. Biography of José Gaspar de Francia . 3rd ed., Buenos Aires 1958, pp. 426f.
  5. Uwe Timm: The crazy man in the dunes. About utopia and literature . Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2020, ISBN 978-3-462-05441-5 .
predecessor Office successor
Fulgencio Yegros President of Paraguay
1813–1814
Fulgencio Yegros
Fulgencio Yegros President of Paraguay
1814–1840
Manuel Antonio Ortiz