Carlos Antonio López

Political career

López was briefly secretary of the military junta led by Colonel Mariano Roque Alonso that ruled the country from 1840 to 1841, after the death of Francia. On 12 March 1841, Congress chose López and Roque to be joint consuls for three years. In 1844, he exiled Roque and assumed dictatorial powers. A few months later, Congress adopted a new constitution, which changed the head of state's title from consul to president and elected López to the new post for a 10-year term. The constitution vested López with powers almost as sweeping as those Francia had held for most of his 26-year rule, effectively codifying the dictatorial powers he had seized just months earlier. The document included no guarantees of civil rights; indeed, the word "liberty" was not even in the text.

He was re-elected for a three-year term in 1854 and again in 1857 for ten more years, with the power to nominate his own successor.

His government was directed towards developing Paraguay's primary resource extraction and strengthening Paraguay's armed forces. He contracted numerous foreign technicians, most of whom were British, and built up the formidable Fortress of Humaitá.

Before the constitution adopted in 1844 that legitimized López’s presidency, Paraguay had no official document of sovereignty; López’s influence led to the recognition of Paraguay as an independent nation. However, his approach to foreign affairs several times involved him in diplomatic disputes with the Empire of Brazil, the United States, and the British Empire, which nearly resulted in war.

His government was somewhat more tolerant of opposition than Francia's had been. He released all political prisoners soon after he took full power and also took measures to abolish slavery.

During his presidency, Paraguay’s economy saw unprecedented growth. He signed commercial treaties with Brazil in 1850, with Great Britain, France and the United States in 1853, and with and Argentina in 1856. His government worked to improve infrastructure and transportation within the country through the establishment of a new railroad line and steamship river routes. López also encouraged public education through the expansion of primary schools and the reopening of the seminary he attended as a young man, which increased literacy throughout the country. Textile factories and shipyards for shipbuilding were established, and agriculture was promoted. National production of yerba mate, tobacco, and timber once again sought foreign markets. One of its most famous projects was the Ybycuí Iron Foundry, where iron tools and cannons were produced.

In 1858 the United States sent a nineteen-ship squadron to South America after President James Buchanan threatened Paraguay with reprisals for refusing to ratify the commercial treaty negotiated in 1853, a Paraguay fort firing on U.S.S. Water Witch in 1856, and allegedly expelling an American company from Paraguay. In the estimation of American scholar John Hoyt Williams, López mastered the threat of massive naval coercion by a superior power at minimal cost to his pride or reputation". Thereafter he resolved "to make Paraguay so strong that further intervention was impossible".

His eldest son, Francisco Solano López (1827–1870), succeeded him as president after his death. A barrio of Asuncion is named after him.

Honours

• Kingdom of Sardinia : Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.