The Regional Workers' Center of Paraguay (; CORP) was a

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

trade union center Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on a ...

. Founded in 1916, as the successor to the

Paraguayan Regional Workers' Federation The Paraguayan Regional Workers' Federation (, FORP) was a Paraguayan trade union center. Established by anarcho-syndicalists in 1906, for a time, the FORP was the only trade union center in the country, organizing a series of strike actions in ...

(FORP), the CORP organised workers throughout the country, at a time when the Paraguayan export market was flourishing. It led several

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...

s by workers on the Asunción tram network, culminating in a

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

in 1921. It also participated in the founding of the Continental American Workers' Association (ACAT), together with other Latin American anarcho-syndicalist federations. By the late 1920s, the CORP started losing influence to

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

-led trade unions. The CORP dissolved during the

Chaco War The Chaco War (, Paraguayan Communist Party (PCP).

Establishment

The Paraguayan labor movement was founded during the late 19th century, with the country's first

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s being established during the first years of the 1900s. The first

national trade union center Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on ...

, the

(FORP), was established by

anarcho-syndicalists Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchism, anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade uni ...

in 1906. Internal divisions between the

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and

factions of the FORP culminated in 1912, when the socialists split off and established the (UGP). Following the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, a sustained

economic depression An economic depression is a period of carried long-term economic downturn that is the result of lowered economic activity in one or more major national economies. It is often understood in economics that economic crisis and the following recession ...

in Paraguay caused the collapse of the trade union movement, with both the UGP and FORP becoming inactive. By 1916, an increased demand for agricultural exports brought growth back to the Paraguayan economy, leading to a subsequent revival of the trade union movement, with several new trade unions being established. The FORP then reorganised itself. On 6 August 1916, nine of the FORP's trade union sections came together to establish a new trade union federation: the Regional Workers' Center of Paraguay (; CORP). Ignacio Núñez Soler was appointed as its first

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Activities

Growth

The CORP adopted a modified version of the FORP's anarchist platform and published the newspaper ''El Combate'', which was edited by Juan Deilla. According to Paraguayan historian Milda Rivarola, the European and Argentine migrant workers who had made up the majority of the FORP's leadership were replaced by native Paraguayans. The CORP quickly revived the Paraguayan trade union movement, organizing workers in the country's

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

meat-packing The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally n ...

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

and

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

industries. The CORP also established local federations in Concepción, Encarnación and Villarrica. Less than a year after the CORP was founded, on 6 June 1917, the liberal government of Benigno Ferreira introduced the country's first

labor law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

, which established a

workweek and weekend The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week, devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most ...

. By the end of World War I, the CORP had grown substantially, establishing trade union centers in major towns and cities throughout the country. It began publication of the newspaper ''El Surco'', which included space for articles in the

Guarani language Guarani (Avañe'ẽ), also called Paraguayan Guarani, is a language of South America that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani branch of the Tupian languages, Tupian language family. It is one of the two official languages of Paraguay (along with Spa ...

; it was later succeeded by the "

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

" newspaper ''Renovación''.

Relations with other organisations

The CORP successfully elicited support for strike actions from secondary school and university students, in a first for Paraguayan history. Together with the UGP, the CORP provided funds for

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

plays that portrayed

social issue A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

s. The CORP established links with the

Argentine Regional Workers' Federation The Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (Spanish: ''Federación Obrera Regional Argentina''; abbreviated FORA), founded in , was Argentina's first national trade unions in Argentina, labor confederation. It split into two wings in 1915, the la ...

(FORA), the North American branch of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

(IWW), and the Uruguayan Regional Workers' Federation (FORU). In early 1920, attempts were made to merge the CORP together with the socialist-led Paraguayan Workers' Federation (FOP), but members of the CORP pulled out of the unification committee. The CORP also established unions among

dockworker A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships. As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockworke ...

s, who were largely organised around the Naval Federation (FN) and often came into conflict with Argentine dockworkers.

Tram workers' strikes

Soon after it was established, the CORP supported a railroad workers' strike, which achieved its demands, although many of the union leaders were imprisoned. In 1916, the CORP also supported a

by workers on the Asunción tram network, who demanded wage increases, although this was broken up by the police and many of the striking workers were arrested. Tram workers led another strike for four months in 1917, but this too was suppressed by the police and the tram workers' union was shut down. The workers finally won their demanded wage increases after a month-long strike in 1919, although their union leaders were deported not long after. After a

walkout In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest. A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an ...

by tram workers in 1921, the CORP called an indefinite

solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

. The strike was initially supported by the FOP, leading to renewed hopes that it would unite with the CORP, but conflict between the two unions soon broke back out. The Paraguayan trade union would remain fragmented throughout the rest of the early 20th century.

Decline and dissolution

Paraguayan trade unions largely supported the government of

Eusebio Ayala Eusebio Ayala Bordenave (August 14, 1875 – June 4, 1942) was a Paraguayan politician who served as the 28th President of Paraguay from 7 November 1921 to 12 April 1923 and again from 15 August 1932 to 17 February 1936. A member of the Liberal ...

during the Paraguayan Civil War of 1922, as well as that of his successor Eligio Ayala. Under the Ayala administration, trade unions were able to operate more or less freely. By 1925, the increased growth of the Paraguayan export market was stimulating the growth of trade unionism, but the CORP itself began to face difficulties. Under the influence of an

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

cadre, the CORP reorganised itself in 1927. But by this time, it was already losing influence to the socialist-led Workers' Union of Paraguay (UOP). In May 1929, two delegates from the CORP attended the first continental congress of anarcho-syndicalists, organised by the FORA in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. There the gathered Latin American union federations established the Continental American Workers' Association (ACAT), which declared its aim to be the abolition of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and the establishment of a

free association of producers Free association, also known as free association of producers, is a relationship among individuals where there is no private ownership of the means of production. A key feature of socialist economics, it has been defined differently by different s ...

. As tensions between Paraguay and

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 ...

rose, the CORP and UOP participated in a peace conference in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

in 1928, organised by the

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

, which attempted to avert the outbreak of war. Following the outbreak of the

Chaco War The Chaco War (, Obdulio Barthe joined the ranks of the Paraguayan Communist Party (PCP), which took over the trade union movement.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *