Magistrados de lo sagrado y de la República: la formación del Estado e Iglesia en el Paraguay poscolonial, 1840-1864
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Date
2019
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Revista Páginas. Escuela de Historia. Facultad de Humanidades y Artes. Universidad Nacional de Rosario
Abstract
Description
Este artículo rastrea las formas cotidianas de formación del estado a mediados del siglo XIX
en Paraguay a través del prisma de la iglesia provincial. Demuestra cómo el nuevo régimen
gobernante de Carlos Antonio López, que consolidó su poder en 1844, reformó un bastión
de la antigua soberanía imperial española, el monolito iglesia-estado, en un anclaje
renovado de la soberanía de la república paraguaya poscolonial. Entre fines de la década de
1840 hasta principios de la de 1860, lo que buscó fue contrarrestar las incertidumbres de
las décadas anteriores y lograr el desarrollo conjunto del estado paraguayo y su alcance
legal y administrativo. Este esfuerzo produjo, principalmente, un cuadro de sacerdotes
nativos para ocupar los puestos ministeriales de lo que luego se convertirá en una diócesis
nacional. Los sacerdotes eran en esencia agentes del estado, que ocupaban las primeras
líneas de interacción con la gente común y elaboraban nociones centrales del
republicanismo: ciudadanía y libertad.
La hipótesis presentada aquí sugiere que este esfuerzo, más que otros factores, proporcionó
la cohesión sociopolítica exhibida por la población paraguaya durante la Guerra de la Triple
Alianza (1864-1870).
This article traces everyday forms of state formation in mid-nineteenth-century Paraguay through the focused prism of the provincial church. It demonstrates how a new ruling regime under Carlos Antonio López that consolidated power by 1844 refashioned a bastion of old Spanish imperial sovereignty—the church-state monolith—into a renewed anchor of sovereignty of the postcolonial Paraguayan republic. Doing so over the late 1840s to early 1860s sought to counter the uncertainties and irresolution of previous decades and proceeded in tandem with the overall growth of the Paraguayan state and its legal and administrative reach. The effort produced, most notably, a cadre of nativeborn priests to fill the ministerial posts of what was turned into a national diocese. The priests were in essence agents of the state, occupied the front lines of interactions with everyday people, and elaborated central notions of republicanism: citizenship and liberty. The hypothesis advanced here suggests that this effort—more so than other factors— provided for the socio-political cohesion exhibited by the Paraguayan population during the Triple Alliance War (1864-1870).
This article traces everyday forms of state formation in mid-nineteenth-century Paraguay through the focused prism of the provincial church. It demonstrates how a new ruling regime under Carlos Antonio López that consolidated power by 1844 refashioned a bastion of old Spanish imperial sovereignty—the church-state monolith—into a renewed anchor of sovereignty of the postcolonial Paraguayan republic. Doing so over the late 1840s to early 1860s sought to counter the uncertainties and irresolution of previous decades and proceeded in tandem with the overall growth of the Paraguayan state and its legal and administrative reach. The effort produced, most notably, a cadre of nativeborn priests to fill the ministerial posts of what was turned into a national diocese. The priests were in essence agents of the state, occupied the front lines of interactions with everyday people, and elaborated central notions of republicanism: citizenship and liberty. The hypothesis advanced here suggests that this effort—more so than other factors— provided for the socio-political cohesion exhibited by the Paraguayan population during the Triple Alliance War (1864-1870).
Keywords
Nación, Religión, Formación del Estado, Nation, Religion, State Formation