The Taking of Encarnación was an attempted anarchist occupation of

Encarnación, Paraguay Encarnación () is a district and the capital city of Itapúa Department in Paraguay, located at the south-east of the department, on the right-hand (western) shore of the Paraná River, opposite Posadas, Argentina. The city has an area of 274& ...

, 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 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 ...

, a group of workers and students attempted to proclaim a

libertarian commune Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state wi ...

in Encarnación on February 20, 1931. They entered Paraguay by crossing the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

from

Posadas, Argentina Posadas () is the capital city of the Argentine province of Misiones, in its south, at the far north-west of the country on the left bank of the Paraná River, opposite Encarnación, Paraguay. The city has an area of and a population of 324, ...

. 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 ''Nuevo Ideario Nacional'' (New National Ideology) is a 1929 insurrectionist proclamation made by young intellectuals of Paraguay that called for a social revolution to create an anarcho-syndicalist society. Contents The ''Nuevo Ideario Naci ...

'', 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 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 ...

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. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

, which they rode to exile in Brazil, stopping to attack

yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba maté (), ''Ilex paraguariensis'', is a plant species of the holly genus native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a bev ...

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 criti ...

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 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 ...

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 Benigno Gabriel Casaccia Bibolini (April 20, 1907 – November 24, 1980) was a Paraguayan novelist. He is considered the father of modern Paraguayan literature. Augusto Roa Bastos, another notable Paraguayan novelist, is quoted as saying “Gabri ...

alluded to the occupation in his ''Los Hederos''.

Event

Legacy

References

Further reading