De Re Publica Societatis Iesus
Father Manuel Contreras
1st ed.
--------------------------
I. History
The deep Catholic influence in the country began with the coming of the Jesuits in the late 16th century. The Jesuits quickly set up missions all through the territory, and the Guarani natives flocked to them in droves, hoping to escape the slave trade. The protection of men of God was not enough, however, and Portuguese raiders attacked and burned the missions in the 1620s and 30s, enslaving the neophytes. At length they were rebuilt, and this time the priests took no chances; with the blessing of the Pope and the King of Spain they formed the converts into armed militias. They found the Guaranis to be very able warriors, and when armed with firearms they became a force to be feared. The safety of the missions was assured.
Little changed in the missions for the next hundred years or so. Let us forge ahead, then, to the 1740s, and the dissolution of the Spanish Empire. Paraguayan territory was first ceded to the Portuguese. The Guaranis, having long memories, feared occupation by their old enemies, and the native militias threw themselves anew into intense training and preparation. Before an effective administration could be created over the region, however, the Portuguese Empire itself crumbled. This time the Paraguayans were to come under the administration of the Estados Unidos de America (EUA). Fearing new overlords, and tired of being pawns in the battles of others, the Paraguayans realized that the time to act was now. In 1754, they ambushed the EUA column sent to take control of the country as it marched up the Paraguay River; the EUA troops, completely surprised by the attack, immediately fled. The EUA declined to press their claim on the territory, and the Paraguayan Jesuit Commonwealth was formed.
II. Government
Having just gained independence, the nascent Paraguayan Commonwealth was confronted with the problem of creating a central administration from scratch. A convention of the major Jesuit leaders of the nation was convened three months after the battle against the EUA. The convention argued and deliberated for four months before finally deciding on a government; the Paraguayan Jesuit Commonwealth was formed.
The center of the government is the legislature, which consists of two houses. The lower house, called the Chamber of Deputies, is a 100 member house whose members have won elections in their respective districts. This body convenes for the majority of the year, and they take care of the commonwealths domestic affairs. Each legislative term lasts 5 years, with one-fifth of all the seats up for election each year. The upper house, called the Senate, is a 40 member body consisting entirely of Roman Catholic clergy. Because the clergy cannot take much time from their normal duties to convene, this body only meets a few times each year. As such, they deal primarily with foreign affairs and state emergencies.
The executive branch consists of a Prime Minister and his subordinate ministers, called the
Curia. The Prime Minister is chosen every five years by a joint session of the legislature, with each legislator having one vote. Starting a trend that has continued to this day, the first joint session in 1755 unanimously chose the Archbishop of Asuncion to lead the new nation. Because of his position as a member of the clergy, he too cannot devote much of his time to the position; therefore, most of the power of the executive rests in the Curia. It has four membersthe Commander in Chief, the Secretary of State, the Chancellor of the Treasury, and the Chief of Domestic Affairseach of which controls a bureaucracy that deals with specific needs of the state.
III. People
Though the exigencies of statehood would bring the mission system to its final end, the Paraguayan people still hold tightly to their community based way of life. The central social organization for the vast majority of Paraguayans is the local parish; they attend mass regularly, and the Priest is most often the most respected member of the community. Workers of the same trade tend to congregate in the same areas, thus giving rise to such nicknames as the steelworkers parish or the railroadmens parish. Often, the workers can be seen walking to work en masse, singing one of various popular work or sacred songs. They work long hours each day, but conditions in the factories are comparatively very good, and the pay is adequate. Because of the community emphasis, very few people are ever in want. Crime is very low, and the people are generally quite happy with their station. Many years of the cultivation of Christian virtues have produced a populace that is content, industrious, and temperate.
IV. Conclusion
The Paraguayan Jesuit Commonwealth is a very curious state indeed. Its devotion to the faith is matched by no other contemporary state, and its peoples singular devotion to community is similarly unmatched. Whether this state of affairs can be maintained remains to be seen.
).
