José Félix Estigarribia

"Estigarribia" redirects here. For other uses, see Estigarribia (surname).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Estigarribia and the second or maternal family name is Insaurralde.

Field Marshal José Félix Estigarribia
Estigarribia c. 1939
34th President of Paraguay
In office 15 August 1939 – 7 September 1940
Vice President	Luis Alberto Riart
Preceded by	Félix Paiva
Succeeded by	Higinio Morínigo
Personal details
Born	José Félix Estigarribia Insaurralde (1888-02-21)February 21, 1888 Caraguatay, Paraguay
Died	September 7, 1940(1940-09-07) (aged 52) Altos, Paraguay
Resting place	National Pantheon of the Heroes
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse	Julia Miranda Cueto ​ (m. 1917)​
Children	1
Alma mater	Trinity College of Agriculture
Occupation	Military officer politician
Military service
Allegiance	Paraguay
Branch/service	Paraguayan Army
Years of service	1911–1940
Rank	Field marshal (posthumously)
Battles/wars	Chaco War

José Félix Estigarribia Insaurralde (21 February 1888 – 7 September 1940) was a Paraguayan military officer and politician who served as the 34th President of Paraguay from 1939 until his death in a plane crash on 7 September 1940. He is most remembered for his role as commander in chief of the Paraguayan Army during the Chaco War, which resulted in an upset victory for Paraguay.

He is recognized for being one of the military officers of the Paraguayan Army who led Paraguay to victory in the Chaco War against Bolivia, having been a prominent military strategist during the armed conflict and considered a war hero. During his life he reached the rank of lieutenant general, being posthumously promoted to field marshal shortly after his death.

In the late 1930s, Estigarribia was courted by both the Colorado Party and Liberal Party to run for president. He decided to join the Liberals, who were more dominant at the time. As president he suspended the constitution and replaced it with a new one which gave him dictatorial powers. His authoritarian rule ended after only a year, when he and his wife were killed in a plane crash. He was succeeded by his Minister of War, Higinio Morínigo, who used Estigarribia's constitution to establish his own dictatorship.

Early life

José Félix Estigarribia Insaurralde was born on 21 February 1888 in Caraguatay, Cordillera, to Mateo Estigarribia and Casilda Insaurralde, who were both peasants of Basque ancestry.

He went to the elementary school of his hometown and, in 1908, he went to study at Trinity College of Agriculture. However, after he had obtained his diploma, Estigarribia switched careers and in 1910 joined the army with the rank of lieutenant of infantry.

Early career

Educated as an agronomist, Estigarribia joined the National Army in 1910; he took additional training in Chile and in Saint Cyr's military academy in France. He commanded the First Infantry Division during the Chaco War with Bolivia, and was promoted successively to brigadier, division general, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In 1935, he made a victorious return to Asunción as "Hero of the Chaco War" and was awarded a lifetime pension of 1,000 gold pesos a month. After President Eusebio Ayala was overthrown in the Febrerista Revolution by Rafael Franco, Estigarribia was dismissed from the position of armed forces chief, but served as Paraguay's ambassador to the United States.

He completed courses in Chile, from 1911 to 1913, the Military School of Bernardo O'Higgins. In 1917 he was promoted to captain. He played an important role in the revolution of 1922 in Paraguay and was later promoted to Major. For their skills was selected to attend the course staff, three-year at the École Supérieure de Guerre at Paris, where he was a disciple of General Maurice Gamelin and Marshal Foch; Estigarribia graduated there with top notes. On his return in 1928 was appointed Chief of Staff of the Army. Less than a year later he was removed from office because of disagreements with the government regarding the strategy for defending the Chaco: "The Chaco should be advocated abandoning it," he argued, the point being not occupy the land but to destroy the enemy. However, as the war against Bolivia seemed inevitable, the government decided that Lieutenant Colonel Estigarribia was the man who was needed in the Chaco. He was then 44 years old.

Chaco War

Main article: Chaco War

Estigarribia was the commander-in-chief of the army and the conductor of operations, during the Chaco War (1932–1935). He managed to stop the Bolivian advance towards the Paraguay River by using a fast counter-attack, and forced them back to the Rio Parapiti..

He directed the Paraguayan Army during the first year of war with the rank of colonel. He was promoted to general after the victory of Campo Grande and Pozo Favorite. In recognition of services rendered to the defending the Chaco, he was promoted to the rank of marshal after his death in 1940.

Postwar

Estigarribia was elected president for a four-year term in 1939 and assumed office on 15 August. On 14 February 1940, there was a military coup attempt against Estigarribia. In response to the coup attempt, on 18 February 1940, Estigarribia declared himself dictator and dissolved the legislature, seized emergency powers, and suspended the Constitution. Declaring that "our nation is on the edge of horrible anarchy", he announced that democracy would be restored as soon as a workable constitutional framework could be designed. Estigarribia argued only a temporary dictatorship could save the nation.

It turned out to be an empty promise; within five months, he recast the constitution into a severely authoritarian document. The president was vested with sweeping powers to act for what he deemed to be the good of the state, codifying Estigarribia's emergency powers. At the same time, the legislature's powers were significantly curtailed. The constitution, approved in an August referendum, transformed Estigarribia's presidency into a legal dictatorship. His authoritarian constitution would remain in effect until 1967, when it was replaced with what many deemed an equally authoritarian document that remained in effect until 1992.

Estigarribia was friendly towards the United States during this period; some nationalists in the Paraguay military favored Germany, which was at war in Europe.

Estigarribia's domestic adversaries were funded by Argentina.

On 7 September 1940, Estigarribia and his wife, First Lady Julia Miranda Cueto, were on a tour of the Paraguayan interior. On a trip from Altos to his country residence in San Bernardino, his plane crashed in Agapuey and all those on board were killed. Estigarribia was succeeded by Higinio Morínigo and was posthumously promoted to the rank of marshal.

External links

• Biography (Presidency of the Republic of Paraguay)
• Jose Felix Estigarribia
• Newspaper clippings about José Félix Estigarribia in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW