Christianity and communism are very close spiritually and ideologically. This is a fairly well-known concept that has been adopted by various thinkers, from Thomas More to Lev Tolstoy. Few people know that the world's first socialist state was established in Paraguay and was based on the ideas of Catholic Jesuits before Marx created his teachings.
It happened in early 19th century in a former South American colony of Spain, Paraguay. This territory has a very interesting history not typical for most overseas acquisitions of Spain. The first colonists landed here in 1530, and since the beginning of the 17th century Spanish Jesuits began establishing settlements in Paraguay. The "Society of Jesus" - the Jesuit religious order - in the Catholic Church was roughly equivalent to the KGB in the Soviet Union. The Jesuits had their own schools with very strict selection criteria and identified dissidents and heretics within the Church. They investigated and punished by the decision of the ecclesiastical court, conducted aggressive missionary policies, collected data on behalf of the church, and recruited politicians and public figures. The Jesuits were highly educated and strong-willed people with independent thinking and the ability to make responsible decisions without consultation. They still possess the same characteristics.
In Paraguay, the Jesuits founded a unique theocratic state. It was based on the Institute of the Inca Empire, tribes of local Indians and ideas of Christianity. This was the first attempt to build a just society without private property with the priority of the public good and prevalence of the collective over the individual. The Indians gave up their nomadic lifestyle for settlements. Agriculture and animal husbandry formed the basis of the economy, and crafts and textiles began to develop. The monks introduced the Indians to the basics of European material and spiritual culture. This is a three-prong challenge of building socialism, formulated by the classics of Marxism-Leninism nearly two hundred years later. The settlements flourished, and the Indians were practically independent of their mother country. The globalizers of that time did not like this, and as a result of a four-year war (1754-1758 years), the combined Spanish-Portuguese forces defeated the theocrats. The Jesuits were expelled from all the Spanish possessions in South America, and the Indians began to return to their former way of life.
However, the socialist ideas of the Jesuits were not forgotten. Fifty years later, the Spanish colonial empire has collapsed. In 1811, Paraguay declared its independence. The country was headed by a lawyer Jose Francia, who ruled until 1840. The country was proclaimed a policy of autarky (using own resources in order to minimize the dependence on external factors), the policy of taking monastic land to public property was carried out, and crime was virtually eliminated.
Francia partially revived the idea of the Jesuits, but without explicit religious overtones. At the heart of the economy was public work and small business (the union of the working classes and the petty bourgeoisie, as advocated by Revolutionaries of the Great October Socialist Revolution). Quite unthinkable for early 19th century public benefits were introduced, including free education, free medical care, low taxes and social food banks. The result was the creation of a strong state industry sector. Paraguay has become the most dynamic and secured country of South America. Poverty was eliminated, and quite a large number of wealthy people were integrated into the society conflict-free.
After the death of Francia in 1840, his nephew Carlos Lopez came to power. He introduced a series of liberal reforms, opened access to the country to foreigners, strengthened the defense, created a river fleet and reorganized the army. Lopez died in 1862, leaving the country to his son, Francisco Lopez. Under his leadership Paraguay reached a peak of prosperity. The population grew to 1.3 million people, and the first railroad was built. Steel, textile, paper and printing industries began to develop in the country, and production of gunpowder and shipbuilding were introduced. Gunpowder and artillery factories were also built.
The neighboring Uruguay that had sea access started watching Paraguay. Uruguay ports served the main cargo trade of Paraguay. There was a real possibility of merging the two countries, and then the process could involve other countries in South America.
In full accordance with Marx's theory of class struggle, the bourgeoisie came together to destroy the material embodiment of socialist ideas. Brazil occupied the Uruguayan port of Montevideo, and placed its puppet to head Uruguay. Soon after, a triple alliance was formed between Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, and a war broke out. At the initial stage of mobile and Patriotic Army Paraguay won several victories, seizing several Brazilian cities and forts. However, the resources of the belligerent countries were not comparable. In addition, the triple alliance was given interest-free loans by London banking houses of NM Rothschild and Baring Brothers.
After a series of bloody battles in which the Paraguayan soldiers showed courage and heroism, the army was defeated. Even children took part in the battles. In memory of their heroism, the modern Paraguay celebrates Children's Day on August 16th. 90 percent of the male population of Paraguay was killed in battles and acts of genocide. By 1871, out of over 1.3 million people 220,000 were left. Paraguay was completely ruined and thrown to the outskirts of the global development. This was the end of the story of a socialist state based on the ideas of the Jesuits. This was the first, but not the last such story in the world history.
Yuri Skidanov
Pravda.Ru
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