The Municipality of Encarnación in Paraguay (1931)
Here we propose 5 texts to reflect this historical fact so little known. The first item produced by Emilio Crisi is based on the proceedings of “Incarnation: a city with a history” of the municipal board of incarnation, published on March 13, 2009 in jme.gov.py. The second extracted from “Anarcocuento Charles” published in Poesiasalvaje.org da Ponte. The third is a newspaper article in First Edition of Misiones (Argentina) on February 21, 2010. The fourth was made by journalist Luis Verón and published on February 19, 2006 on ABC in Paraguay. The latter is an excerpt from the article by Sergio Alvez “The sapucay anarchist” on the biography of the anarchist missionary Mark Kanner, published in Surface missionary.
“The first American libertarian commune”
On February 20, 1931 a movement of anarcho-communists Paraguayan city of Encarnación takes-bordering Posadas, Argentina-without making a single shot or bloodshed. The Incarnation was named socket at the time as the “First American Libertarian Commune”. They were inspired by the libertarian ideas of Rafael Barret and the Paris Commune. The revolutionary movement developed a manifesto called New national ideology. Some of the leaders of the movement were Oscar Creyd, Ciriaco Duarte, Obdulio Barthe and Cantalicio Aracuyú, among others. The operation lasted 16 hours. Major city officials, led by the Government Delegate, left the city just starts lifting.
Given the reaction of the Government to train troops sent by the army to suppress the movement, coupled with the lack of support in the rest of the country, its main protagonists had to flee in a steamer heading for the Alto Paraná, heading to Foz do Iguacu , Brazil, where he sought refuge. Others escaped by various means into the jungle.
This revolution must have occurred across the country, with major outlets Assumption and Villarrica. Beat in Concepcion gave no communication difficulties. Materialized only in the capital of Itapúa. “And that was not just like that, a blind attempt carried out by a bunch of crazy rioters. Taking the endpoints and through the railway line linking Asunción, Encarnación Villarrica and obeyed a strategic plan: the suspension of the only direct communication by land and commercial axis of movement inside and outside the country. “[1 ]
Cantalicio Aracuyú, one of the organizers was shot in the head by police, so they could not escape with their peers. He endured prison and the abuse of the police. However, he recovered and continued to fight for the libertarian cause, until his death in the 1980s.
A fragment of the manifesto of the New National Ideology read “For this fight we call the people to the street and open, mouth in squares and streets, the School of the Revolution. Want to revive the national consciousness of the immortal spirit of 1811 . battled for third, the final emancipation of the Paraguayan people ”
“The Commune of Incarnation”
By Charles da Ponte
“Taking Incarnation. Sounds so strange today, so foreign, so unlikely to both public and so few bad actors, but on the morning of February 20, 1931 the city of Encarnación dawn taken. Without bloodshed, that you see. ‘Cause it was not a question of a group come and take power and ready, that was the culmination of a process that was lived, touched by the people, experienced by him, and organizations of workers and students. ”
“The decision was part of a plan in which, to miscarry insurrections and Villarrica in Asunción, the support was orphaned expected: No lit the peasant uprising in Streams and Estuaries, the coup in Concepcion gave no communication difficulties … A tangle. If they had Internet or cell phones back then, another whistle had sounded pu. Though maybe, if all possessed at that time, maybe not engaged in arming a revolution. Anyway, things do not out. And that was not just like that, a blind attempt carried out by a bunch of crazy rioters. Taking the endpoints and through the railway line linking Asunción, Encarnación Villarrica and obeyed a strategic plan : the suspension of the only direct communication by land and commercial axis of movement inside and outside the country. nio Mita I thought things. And had passion. And had ideals that drew them towards a desirable future. and fought for them . President in office was Joseph P. Guggiari, who after dismantling the uprising unleashed his dogs in a violent persecution to crush any outbreak subversive. ”
“City taken”
First Edition Published in Journal of Misiones (Argentina) on February 21, 2010.
Yesterday February 20 was commemorated another anniversary of a social uprising cataloged as “The Taking of Incarnation”. It was in 1931 and was inspired by the Paris Commune. Paraguayans and missionaries Historians remember the feat, which was attended by members of our province.
“I have only the etymological sense:” absence of government. ” You have to destroy the spirit of authority and prestige of the law. That’s it. It will be the work of free inquiry. The ignorant imagine that anarchy is disorder and ungoverned society always become chaos. No other facts conceived externally imposed order by terror weapons. Anarchism, as I understand it, is reduced to free political discussion. (…) What to do? Educate and educate. It boils down to the free exam. That our children to examine the law and despise “.
My anarchism, Rafael Barret, Spanish essayist ideologically inspired socket Incarnation. On February 20, the Paraguayan newspapers devote some space in your columns to remember anniversaries in 1931 of what became known as The Taking of Incarnation, which became a historical event for 16 hours city today begins to succumb to the curse Yacyretá in the “First Latin American Libertarian commune”.
Will small spaces, as happens every year, because the memory of that event is uncomfortable, what is called politically incorrect. But in terms of history, that brief social revolution irgue as one of the most romantic and neighboring fundamental key to understanding the context that existed in the early 30s in Paraguay and in our country, where the influence of ideas that had left the dream cut short of the Paris Commune (brief popular government that ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871) belatedly crossed the ocean, instigating intellectuals, workers, students and activists emerged from the quarries of anarchism and socialism in our region, to dream of building a continent where freedom, equality and direct democracy were the pillars of the existence of every human being, as the flags erected by the protagonists of this action succeeded ago 79 years.
That morning the Paraná river crossing saw the canoe of dozens of natives of Missions who joined the feat on the other side of the border, including a weighty figure in the annals of Latin American anarchist movement who lived in Mission between 1928 and 1981: Mark Kaner.
Without firing a shot, revolutionaries forced the removal of the incumbent government delegate and his subjects, who fled immediately but warned of what happened to the country’s military authorities. Incarnation dawn turned into a small socialist republic, but the libertarian dream of those 150 men, there were women, although to a much lesser extent, would be too ephemeral.
“Taking Incarnation was headed by an anarchist communist movement inspired by the ideas of Rafael Barret and the Paris Commune, the intellectual direction of Oscar Duarte Creyd and Ciriaco led by Obdulio Aracuyú Cantalicio Barthe and, among others, in an operation that lasted 16 hours on February 20, 1931. Without bloodshed, leading authorities, led by the government delegate, fled leaving the town defenseless, “says the historian Ramon Encarnacion Reverchon, in its report Incarnation city with history.
For its part, the Paraguayan writer Charles Da Ponte notes that “the decision was part of a plan in which, to miscarry insurrections and Villarrica in Asunción, was orphaned of support expected by communication difficulties. If they had Internet or cell phones back then, history would have been different. Although maybe if all possessed at that time, maybe not engaged in arming a revolution. Anyway, things went. Not that it was just like that, a blind attempt carried out by a bunch of crazy rioters.
Taking the endpoints and through the railway line linking Asunción, Encarnación Villarrica and obeyed a strategic plan: the suspension of the only direct communication by land and commercial axis of movement inside and outside the country. There was passion. And had ideals that drew them towards a desirable future. And he fought for them. The incumbent president was José P. Guggiari, who after dismantling the uprising unleashed his dogs in a violent persecution to crush any outbreak subversive “.
The clerk and former spokesman for the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, Juan Benitez Rickman, has a less romantic view of what happened: “It was just a crazy plan to attack the city of Encarnación, where an armed group by Communist leaders took over attack the civil Delegation of the City, taking supporters of the guerrilla movement in the cities of Asuncion and Villarrica. After 16 hours of occupation and wanting to proclaim the first republic “Bolshevik” in South America, they saw they had no popular support, went into the mountains of time and then returned to Argentine territory. ”
Reverchon Ramon Again, we synthesized the outcome that had taken: “Given the government’s reaction to train troops sent by the army to suppress the movement, its main protagonists hastily abandoned Incarnation, embarking on the steamer ‘Bell’ of the company heading Barthe the Alto Paraná, heading to Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, where he sought refuge. ”
Silvia Waskiewicz historian, in his book “The slaughter of Oberá” Making Incarnation analyzes as “an episode that is set up as one more fact about the climate of social conflicts that existed in the region. It involved the active participation of Mark Kaner, outstanding leader of Communism missionary. ”
With regard to the general context of the labor movements of the early 30s in the region, the historian Oberena Severa Barrios explains that “the labor movement was an excellent testing ground and fight that had a number of high-value militants source especially Spanish or Italian, but since 1910, there began to be militant and even native aboriginal blood. He fought for the right of workers and labor organizations were maintained at the cost of sacrifices, prisons, persecution and deportation. ”
“Incarnation, capital of the Republic”
By Luis Verón, published February 19, 2006 on ABC in Paraguay.
Tomorrow marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the capture of the city of Encarnación by a leftist revolutionary group and its declaration as the capital of Socialist Republic of Paraguay.
The revolutionary coup that led to the decision, for 16 hours from the city of Encarnación on February 20, 1931, had months of preparation. Purpose of the conspirators was socializing or popularization of political and administrative functions of the country, constitute a “commoner republic”, organizing a federation of trade unions or private corporations, organizing the national economy on socialization, nationalization or control media production, limiting private fortunes, etc.
The most visible leaders of the movement were Obdulio Barthe, Humberto Amabile, Carlos Codas, Francisco Sanchez Palacios, Facundo and Cantalicio Aracayú Duarte, among others.
The atmosphere
Recall that it was the height of political effervescence that it was as a third political force that would undermine the historic bipartisanship in Paraguayan politics.
The idea of installing a socialist republic had been maturing in certain circles. The starting point had to be a labor strike in Asunción, but the death of one of the leaders led to a violent police crackdown that led to the failure of the project. Three days before the day fixed for the surveys of important parts of the country, the leaders and organizers of the revolutionary movement were out of their bones in police dungeons. The result: the mismatch. The result: the revolutionary failure.
The facts
On the morning of February 20, 1931, revolutionaries, without firing a shot and without useless bloodshed, took Port Subprefecture barracks, where they constituted the revolutionary command, the local police and civilian delegation. Apparently and according to their reactions, the staff of the institutions taken by revolutionaries sympathetic to the movement, as there were no adverse reactions that hindered the operation.
It also took the railroad station, where they installed a communications command to contact other points to revolt, as Villa Rica and the country’s capital, where the attempt was aborted causing uncoordinated actions elsewhere as streams and Estuaries , Yhú, Maciel, Sosa and Concepcion. The lack of coordination, with instructions to be starting from Asuncion-conspirators convinced the outbreak of failure, so 16 hours after taking the southern city were defeated and left for the adventure, embarking on a steamer of the company Barthe and a flat, heading Foz do Iguaçu, where he surrendered to authorities, who treated them as political emigrants.
Take frustrated
In coordination with the Incarnation should be making the Villa Rica, Asunción and other parts of the country. To raise the city of Villa Rica in favor of the revolution had moved there CarlosCodas Messrs. Sanchez and Francisco Palacios.
On the night of February 19 was a carnival dance, attended, along with the authorities, the cream of society guaireña. Purpose of revolutionaries seize this social gathering was to take the most important points of the city. Everything seemed to pass off without a hitch, but the confidence he noticed a curious movement involved rare alerted the civil officer of government, Leonardo Appleyard, who began investigating, putting tipped off the plotters, who assaulted gunpoint two car owners and fled to Paso Yobai, and from there, on horseback, marched towards the Upper Paraná. Thus ended this ephemeral revolutionary adventure whose 75th anniversary is remembered tomorrow.
