Carlos Antonio López

López was born at Manorá (Asunción) on November 4, 1792, and was educated in the ecclesiastical seminary of that city. He attracted the hostility of the dictator José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia – his reputed uncle,[1] which caused him to go into hiding for several years.

Carlos Antonio López and his wife, Juana Pabla Carrillo.

He served briefly as secretary of the military junta that ruled the country from 1840 to 1841, following the death of José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia. In 1841, Congress chose him as the country's first consul—a post equivalent to that of president—ruling alongside Mariano Roque Alonso. 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 him to the new post for a 10-year term. The constitution vested López with powers almost as sweeping "El Supremo" 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 mentioned in the text.

He was re-elected for a three-year term in 1854, and then reelected in successive elections for ten and three years, and in 1857 again for ten years, with 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, mainly English, and built up the formidable Fortress of Humaitá.[2][3]

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 that of Francia. He released all political prisoners soon after taking full power, and also took measures to abolish slavery.[4]

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

• History of Paraguay
• List of Presidents of Paraguay

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lopez, Carlos Antonio". Encyclopædia Britannica. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 990–991.
• Plá, Josefina (1976). The British in Paraguay 1850–1870. The Richmond Publishing Co in association with St Antony's College, Oxford.
• Williams, John Hoyt (1977). "Foreign Tecnicos and the Modernization of Paraguay". Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs (Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Miam): pp. 233–257. JSTOR 174705