February 28, 2020

On March 1, 1870, 150 years ago this Sunday, Paraguay’s President Francisco Solano López was killed by Brazilian troops in the Cerro Corá valley of northeastern Paraguay. López’s death marked the end of the War of the Triple Alliance (also called the Paraguayan War), the bloodiest war in Latin American history. The conflict had begun in 1864 and pitted Paraguay against the nearby nations of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay—the “Triple Alliance.” Paraguay lost the war, its population was decimated, and much of the country was destroyed.

This is the last known photograph of Paraguayan President Francisco Solano López. He was killed 150 years ago this Sunday on March 1, 1870. credit: Public Domain

It is a grim anniversary, but the War of the Triple Alliance still calls forth nationalistic pride in many Paraguayans. The country is marking the sesquicentennial of the end of the war with concerts, book launches, and conferences in Asunción, the capital, as well as special commemorations in the capital and at López’s death site along the Aquidabán Niguí River.

In 1862, as the United States struggled through a bloody Civil War, Paraguay’s first president, Carlos Antonio López, died after 21 years in power. His son, Francisco Solano López, then took over as a president with dictatorial powers. Francisco believed that Argentina and Brazil wished to occupy Paraguay and Uruguay, so he signed a defense treaty with Uruguay. In 1864, Paraguay went to war against Brazil to defend Uruguay’s government. After Argentina refused to let Paraguayan troops cross its territory to attack Brazil, López declared war on Argentina as well. In 1865, Brazil helped a new government take hold in Uruguay, which joined with Argentina and Brazil to form the Triple Alliance against Paraguay.

Paraguay fought the nearby countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay (to the southeast, not on the map) in the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870). credit: World Book map; map data (c) MapQuest.com, Inc.

After initial Paraguayan victories, the turning point of the war came at the 1866 Battle of Tuyutí in southwestern Paraguay. In the bloodiest battle ever in South America, some 17,000 soldiers were killed at Tuyutí—most of them Paraguayan. A series of desperate battles followed as the Alliance armies gained the upper hand. By January 1869, Alliance troops had captured Asunción and controlled much of Paraguay, but López and a stalwart group of soldiers continued fighting a guerrilla campaign in the mountains. (Guerrilla warfare is conducted by roving bands of fighters who stage ambushes, sudden raids, and other small-scale attacks.) Brazilian troops eventually caught up with López and his remaining forces in the Cerro Corá valley, where the war ended with López’s death on the battlefield in 1870.

The war left Paraguay in ruins. Some historians estimate that the country lost about 60 percent of its prewar population, including nearly 90 percent of its men. In total, an estimated 400,000 people died in the conflict. Paraguay also lost a fourth of its territory. After the war, power struggles among rival political groups plagued the country. More than 30 presidents headed Paraguay’s government from 1870 to 1932.

January 17, 2017

On Saturday, January 14, weary and filthy racers from all over the world pulled their off-road vehicles onto the streets of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, completing the final stage of the Dakar Rally. The racers entered the city and crossed the finish line after 12 grueling days of gritty cross-country racing, covering 5,457 miles (8,782 kilometers) of dirt, rock, and sand. The race began in Asunción, Paraguay, on January 2, running north into Bolivia before winding back south to Argentina.

An off-road racer climbs the desert dunes near Ica, Peru, during the 2013 Dakar Rally. Credit: © Christian Vinces, Shutterstock

The Dakar Rally, once known as the Paris-Dakar Rally, is an annual cross-country endurance race. The rally includes five different vehicle categories: cars, motorcycles, quads (all-terrain vehicles, or ATV’s), trucks, and—new this year—utility task vehicles, or UTV’s (a two-seater style of ATV). The first Dakar Rally began on Dec. 26, 1978, as 182 motorcycles and cars revved their engines on the Place du Trocadéro in Paris, France, preparing for the 6,200-mile (10,000-kilometre) journey to Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Covering more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) per day, the winning racers crossed the Dakar finish line on Jan. 14, 1979 (just 74 vehicles completed the race). The racers followed a route from Paris to Marseille, where boats carried them across the Mediterranean Sea to Algeria. From there, the route continued through the dunes and dust of Niger, Mali, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), and, finally, Senegal.

The Dakar Rally continued annually and gained popularity, reaching a peak of 688 racers in 2005. In 2008, security threats in Mauritania (Mali’s neighbor to the west) shut down the race, and it was moved to the deserts and scrubland of South America. The 2017 Dakar Rally began with 566 racers. The winning drivers came from Brazil, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

To compensate for negative impacts of the race on the environment, Dakar Rally sponsors donate large sums to the Madre de Dios project that works to protect the Amazon rain forest and other natural habitats of South America. Race routes avoid sensitive archaeological or paleontological sites, and strict cleanup and recycling rules ensure the integrity of the stunning natural landscapes that define the spectacle of the rally.