Background
Carlos Antonio López was born in Asunción on 4 November 1792.
politician president statesman
Carlos Antonio López was born in Asunción on 4 November 1792.
A wealthy estanciero, López succeeded in gaining control of the country after six months of turbulence following the death of his predecessor. Dr. José Gaspar Rodríguez Francia. From 1842 until his death, he was the undisputed master of his country.
López became embroiled in the turbulent politics of neighboring Argentina. From 1845 until 1852 he sided with those elements who were fighting to oust tyrannical Juan Manuel de Rosas.
Upon his death, López was succeeded by the third of Paraguay’s powerful nineteenth-century dictators, his son Francisco Solano López, whom he had named as commander-in-chief of the army as early as 1845.
Under López, the government increased its ownership of the land to include almost the entire country. He reversed Francia’s policy of closing Paraguay off from the world, opened the country’s borders, and the nation experienced a period of economic and cultural stimulation. There was even modest immigration. López favored economic development; one of the continent’s first railways was built under his government’s auspices.
Although very much a political tyrant, López maintained the façade of a constitutional regime, with a functioning but subservient Congress. But he never allowed the legislature to limit his control of national affairs.
