The Taking of Encarnación was an attempted anarchist occupation of Encarnación, Paraguay, in February 1931 as part of a larger plan to initiate a social

libertarian (anarchist) Anarchism and libertarianism, as broad political ideologies with manifold historical and contemporary meanings, have contested definitions. Their adherents have a pluralistic and overlapping tradition that makes precise definition of the politic ...

revolution in the country.

Event

As part of a larger plan to initiate a social

revolution in Paraguay, a group of workers and students attempted to proclaim a libertarian commune in Encarnación on February 20, 1931. They entered Paraguay by crossing the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

from

Posadas, Argentina Posadas () is the capital city of the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, province of Misiones Province, Misiones, in its south, at the far north-east of the country on the bank (geography), left bank of the Paraná River, opposite Encar ...

. Led by Obdulio Barthe,

Félix Cantalicio Aracuyú Felix Cantalicio Aracuyú was an early 20th century Paraguayan anarchist. He was a participant in an attempted anarchist revolution in Paraguay in 1931 known as the Taking of Encarnación. See also * Anarchism in Paraguay Anarchism in Para ...

, and Facundo Duarte, and propelled by the '' Nuevo Ideario Nacional'', 150 anarchists and communists occupied Encarnación for 16 hours. A stray bullet from the occupation left Aracuyú badly wounded. The other components of the planned popular revolution, in Asunción and Villarrica, were foiled as their labor leaders were deported in the days preceding the action. Following the occupation, the insurrectionists took over two

steamboats A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

, which they rode to exile in Brazil, stopping to attack yerba mate companies and burn records related to indentured

mensú Mensú, also known as mineros, were indentured laborers of the rural, jungle yerba mate plantations in the Alto Paraná Department of Paraguay and Argentina from 1880 to 1950. Their inhospitable work conditions were the subject of social c ...

s in two ports. The 17 who remained in Encarnación were arrested.

Legacy

While the occupation itself was marred by incompetence, it represented both widespread discontent among workers and students as well as the influence of

anarcho-syndicalism Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence in b ...

and its main vessel, the weekly ''La Palabra''. Following the 1931 uprising, anarchism's influence waned and was supplanted by socialist thought. Novelist Gabriel Casaccia alluded to the occupation in his ''Los Hederos''.

Event

Legacy

References

Further reading