HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Felipe Benigno Molas López (10 July 1901 – 17 November 1954) was 39th
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 ...
from February 27, 1949 – September 10, 1949, when he resigned.


Life


Early life

Born in 1901 in Yuty, Caazapá Department. Once he completed high school, he pursued Dentistry in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. He obtained in
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
a specialization in implant, all new to medical science of the early twentieth century, becoming one of the firsts Paraguayans to get a degree in that field.


Chaco War

He served in the war with
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
where he reached the rank of captain of Health. In the postwar, he took active participation in drawing up plans for the installation of the Faculty of Dentistry at the National University which was located in the previous residence of former president José P. Guggiari. He practiced a successful career but was stopped by attracting the magnetism of politics, which Paraguayans from all scales feel so much affection for. He became a member of the Colorado Party in his early twenties. The party, then in the opposition, split in 1927, facing a proposal of the Liberal government, headed by president Eligio Ayala. Ayala wanted the Colorados to participate in the drafting of a new electoral law. It was his intention to make sure that both parties should participate in the upcoming election for congress. This caused a split in the Colorado Party amongst the "eleccionistas" (electionists), who accepted the offer, and the "abstencionistas" (abstentionists), who wanted a stronger and radical opposition against the government. Molas joined to the last group and became a close aide to their leader, former president Pedro P. Peña.


Civil Service

On February 21, 1936, he assumed as the Mayor of Asuncion for a short period. His brilliant talents of scientific and public man became the leading figure in the national political scene, far complex and anarchic. In 1948 he participated in the ministry of Education in the fleeting mandate of the president Juan Manuel Frutos and then in the mandate of Juan Natalicio González. With the assumption of the chairmanship of General Raimundo Rolón, Molas Lopez retained his ministry until January 30, 1949. As the country was subjected to a one-party regime, February 15 of the same year, by the decision of the Board of Colorado Party, gathered in Convention he got the possibility for the implementation of the Statute of Party and the appointment of Dr. Felipe Molas López as a candidate for president. This measure was achieved through an agreement among the “chavistas” groups and democratic groups. The Convention provided the fullest and most loyal adherence to the candidature of the Coreligionist Dr. Felipe Molas López, to be sustained for the elections called for April 17.


Presidency

On February 27, 1949, he assumed the provisory presidency until May 14 – with the general election done – he took possession of official duties. The political agreement was not a greater guaranteed for the ruler, who was deposed six months later, on September 11. A few days later, the Board acknowledged the causes for the President's overthrow. He was accused of having failed to fulfill the targets set as the unification of the party, the progressive restoration of republican institutions, also of public morality. As it was assumed, the president had to overcome a series of political and military upheavals, over the constant pressure of the leaders of his party because, as well as the writer Raul Amaral says "the Governing Board had control over the state and those responsible for ruling it.”


Death

Dr. Molas Lopez died 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 17 November 1954, aged 53. From June 19, 1956, by a municipal decree an avenue of Asunción bears his name. This is the Ex – Cañada YbYray of joining the avenues Aviadores Del Chaco in the southeast with the avenue
Jose Gervasio Artigas Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Halafta ...
to the northwest.


Administration

His cabinet was composed of: * Liberato Rodriguez (after Mario Mallorquín) Interior * Federico Chavez (Bernardo Ocampos) Foreign Affairs * Ramon Mendez Paiva, Finance * Rigoberto Caballero, Public Works * Pedro Hugo Pena, Public Health and Social Welfare * Rigoberto Caballero, Public Works and Communications * Jose Zacarias Arza, National Defense * Liberato Rodriguez (Bernardo Ocampos, Fabio Da Silva) Economy * J. Augusto Saldivar (Fabio Da Silva, Guillermo Enciso Velloso) Justice and Labour * J. Eulojio Estigarribia, education. Among the rulings in his government recalls the following: * Amnesty for exiles from the revolution of 1947. (Measurement according to the view of Raul Amaral, did not produce positive effects.) * Resumption of relations with
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
. * Name of General
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 ...
to the First Cavalry Division. * Transfer of the remains of General Caballero to National Pantheon of Heroes. The unification of the Colorado party had not been brought to a successful conclusion. Very soon appeared other factors that deepen the gaps separating the parties remained in crisis and that the Paraguayan political life. The Colorado Party returned to power in January 1947, following a failed multiparty coalition, and with the support of then-president Gral.
Higinio Morínigo Higinio Nicolás Morínigo Martínez (11 January 1897 – 27 January 1983) was a Paraguayan military officer and politician who served as the 35th president of Paraguay from 1940 to 1948, ruling as a military dictator. Born to a mestizo famil ...
.


References

* "Builders of Paraguay." Authors number. * "The presidents of Paraguay. 1844–1954) R. Amaral * "Asuncion and its streets." Osvaldo kalls * "Political process in Paraguay." Vol. IV. Saturnino Perez Ferreira


External links


Philip---- (1901–1954). Htm Anacomas.com

Famous people
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Molas Lopez, Felipe 20th-century presidents of Paraguay 1901 births 1954 deaths Mayors of places in Paraguay Colorado Party (Paraguay) politicians Universidad Nacional de Asunción alumni