Facundo Machaín (November 26, 1845 – October 29, 1877) was

president of Paraguay The president of Paraguay (), officially known as the president of the Republic of Paraguay (), is the head of the executive branch of the government of Paraguay, serving as both head of state and head of government according to the Constitu ...

. His period of government lasted barely one day between August 31 and September 1, 1870, but was important for the political situation and development of the country at the time.

Early life

Facundo Machaín Recalde was a lawyer and politician. He was born in

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

on November 26, 1845. His parents were José Serapio Machaín y Zavala and Clara Recalde y Machaín. He had several siblings: Esteban, León, Raymundo (who later married his widow), Josefa (married Federico Zorraquín), Francisca (married Alberto Robinson), Emilia and

Serapio Machaín Serapio may refer to: Ancient history * Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio (182/181–132 BC), Ancient Roman politician Modern history Surname * Antonio Serapio, Philippine lawmaker * Kevin Serapio, Nicaraguan football player Given name * Jo ...

. He was married to Clara Recalde, but had no children. After attending school in Asuncion he studied in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Universidad Central The Central University (''Universidad Central'') is a private institution of higher education established 1966, whose two offices are at Bogotá, Colombia. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the areas of humanities, arts, economic a ...

where he graduated from Law School. His professor was the Argentine

Andrés Bello Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López (; November 29, 1781 – October 15, 1865) was a Venezuelan Humanism, humanist, diplomat, poet, legislator, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute a ...

Politics

At the end of

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

in early 1869 he returned to the recently occupied Asuncion and got involved in politics. He quickly became president of the political ''Gran Club del Pueblo'' and was elected to the National Assembly. Facundo was one of the first Paraguayan politicians who spoke in public to the people and managed to captivate the audience with his strong personality, his youth and culture. According to the biography written by

José Segundo Decoud José Segundo Decoud Domecq (14 May 1848 – 3 March 1909) was a Paraguayan politician, journalist, diplomat and military officer. He is often considered one of the foremost intellectuals of his generation, and was also one of the first liberal ...

, Facundo was a good speaker but had difficulties with writing. As a lawyer he was a member of the commission that created the Constitution of 1870, and he was a contributor to Paraguay's first private newspaper, ''

La Regeneración LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

''.

Presidency

The Paraguayan Provisional government of 1869 consisted of Colonel

Carlos Loizaga Carlos Loizaga was member of the Paraguayan Triumvirate established by the occupying allied forces following the fall of Asunción from 15 August 1869 to 31 August 1870. He was a member of the Paraguayan Legion The Paraguayan Legion (), was ...

Cirilo Antonio Rivarola Cirilo Antonio Rivarola Acosta (1836 – 31 December 1878) was the 4th List of Presidents of Paraguay, President of Paraguay and served from 1870 to 1871. Biography The Rivarola family was important in Paraguayan politics throughout the 19th ce ...

and Jose Diaz de Bedoya. In May 1870 José Díaz de Bedoya resigned and on August 31, 1870, Carlos Loizaga also resigned. The remaining member Antonio Rivarola was then relieved of his duties by the National Assembly which established a provisional Presidency to which he was elected and assumed post on August 31, 1870. Machaín was elected by 37 votes against 5. He swore the following oath: "I swear before the God and the Country, to fulfill truthfully my duties as President and all the dispositions of the Sovereign Constituent Convention". But only 12 hours after, in a plot planned by

Candido Bareiro Candido is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Candido Amantini (1914–1992), Italian Roman Catholic priest * Candido Camero, known simply as "Candido" (1921–2020), Cuban percussionist * Candido J ...

and with the help of some Allied forces, he was overthrown on September 1, 1870, in the first coup after the war.

Later career

He was appointed to be a member of the Supreme Court of Justice in 1872. Despite them being political opponents, President

Juan Bautista Gill Juan Bautista Gill García (''Juan Bautista Gill Garcia del Barrio'') (October 28, 1840 – April 12, 1877) was President of Paraguay from November 25, 1874 until his assassination on April 12, 1877 by Juansilvano Godoi and Major Jose Dolores M ...

appointed him as the foreign minister in June, 1874. In 1876 he negotiated and signed with the Argentine Minister

Bernardo de Irigoyen Bernardo de Irigoyen (December 18, 1822 – December 27, 1906) was an Argentine lawyer, diplomat and politician. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, Irigoyen enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires and earned a ''juris doctor'' in 1843. He was ...

the Machaín-Irigoyen Treaty on February 3, 1876, under which Paraguay officially ceded

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the Provinces of Argentina, 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil ...

and part of

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or simply Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland tropical dry broadleaf forest natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion o ...

territory. It also made possible the removal of Allied occupation forces from Paraguay by July 3, 1876.Historical Dictionary of Paraguay
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Arrest and murder

He worked as a journalist and was professor and the first director of the ''Colegio Nacional de Asunción'' (Asunción's National School). From that building he saw the assassination of President

in April 1877. When hearing the first shots he went out to one of the balconies that opened to the ''Libertad'' Street (nowadays called

Eligio Ayala José Eligio Ayala (4 December 1879 – 24 October 1930) was President of Paraguay from 12 April 1923 to 17 March 1924 and again from 15 August 1924 until 15 August 1928. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Life Jose Eligio Ayala was born i ...

) shouting: "The President is being killed". He agreed to defend those accused for the murder of President Gill. However, the political situation made him a victim of political passions. He was imprisoned and placed in the same cell as his defendants, among whom was

José Dolores Molas José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

, an army officer who a few years earlier had led a revolt against the government in Asuncion. Under orders from

and

Bernardino Caballero Bernardino Caballero de Añazco Melgarejo y Genes (20 May 1839, Ybycuí, Paraguay – 26 February 1912, Asunción) was a Paraguayan military officer and politician. He was a General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), off ...

, Facundo was murdered by prison guards in his prison cell on 29 October 1877 at the age of 32. His death caused great sadness in Paraguayan society. It was said that with him Paraguayan writing lost a great professor. A street in Asuncion, in the neighborhood of

Mariscal Estigarribia Mariscal Estigarribia () is a town in the Boquerón, Paraguay, Boquerón Department of Paraguay. It is home to Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport (IATA code: ESG). Strategic importance The airport was constructed by Paraguayan milit ...

is named in his honor.

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

Presidencia de la República del Paraguay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machain, Facundo 1845 births People murdered in 1877 People from Asunción Paraguayan people of Basque descent Presidents of Paraguay Ministers of foreign affairs of Paraguay Ambassadors of Paraguay to Brazil Justices of the Supreme Court of Paraguay 19th-century Paraguayan lawyers Paraguayan murder victims People murdered in Paraguay Paraguayan people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Paraguayan detention Deaths by firearm in Paraguay 1877 deaths