SUMMARY of the CHACO War: causes and consequences

When talking about the main wars we usually focus on those that took place in Europe or worldwide, forgetting certain conflicts that have taken place on the continents, affecting to a great extent less known. To talk about one of the main wars that have taken place in America, in a PROFESSOR we offer you a summary of the Chaco War, causes and consequences.

No war appears out of nowhere, but all of them arise from a series of antecedents that cause it to be start a military conflict to settle a series of problems that can affect many factors of the lifetime. To understand the reasons that led to the start of such an important war for South Americans, we must talk about the background of the Chaco war.

The previous wars

Shortly before the Chaco War, they happened three different wars that affected the regions and that were one of the main antecedents for the beginning of the conflict.

• The Triple Alliance war It was a war that took place between 1864 and 1870 that pitted Paraguay against an alliance formed by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, being a war for the Chaco in which most of the male population of Paraguay.
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• The second war was that of peaceful, which faced Bolivia against Peru and Chile and in which the Bolivian defeat made them unable to reach the Pacific and seek an alternative route such as the Chaco of Paraguay.
• Finally the acre war that took place between Brazil and Bolivia, and in which the Brazilians kept the Acre but defended that the Chaco was from Bolivia.

Failed negotiations

For years, both Paraguay and Bolivia sought to stop the war by negotiating agreements to fix the Chaco region and not having to face each other, but with neither of us intending to back down there was never any kind of agreement.

The oil

A study carried out by the United States brought to dispute the possibility that in the Chaco area there could be oil, this being the reason why Paraguay had no intention of starting behind.

Water areas

During the years prior to the war, both South American powers occupied an area of ​​relevance in the area, in order to have water supplies for the troops and that the war would be easier for their troops.

The Chaco War was a warlike conflict that took place between 1932 and 1935 and that faced the nations of Paraguay and Bolivia in an attempt to control the Boreal Chaco area.

On June 15, 1932, the war began when some Bolivian troops attacked a Paraguayan fort in the Chuquisaca area, in an attack that some sources consider was not authorized by the Bolivian president. The taking of the fort only lasted a month, but the recovery by force made Bolivia declare war on Paraguay.

Stages of the Chaco War

1. In the call first stage of the war the confrontations followed one another, but with almost no depth, except for the so-called defense of the Boquerón, considered the biggest battle of this stage and in which Bolivians managed to defend themselves for twenty days from the attacks of 15 thousand Paraguayan soldiers.
2. The second stage the conflict took place in 1933 and was characterized by continuous defeats of Bolivia with just a small victory. The continuous defeats and casualties of Bolivia mean that those in charge of the Bolivian war were dismissed at the end of the second stage.
3. The third stage dated 1934 was marked by the continuous victories of the Paraguayans, showing that the change of general did not serve to stop the strength of Paraguay. All this situation caused that in November 1934 the president of Bolivia was forced to resign.
4. In the fourth and last phase the Bolivians succeeded in slowing down the Paraguayans' advance and even pushing them back. After that, there were numerous Bolivia wins and it was the cause that the Paraguayans and they reached a peace agreement.

In June 1935 Both nations signed a peace that would lead to the end of the war and to a series of agreements on the management of the Chaco in each of the regions.

To finish this summary of the Chaco war we must talk about the consequences that had the end of the conflict for both regions and the rest of South America. The main consequences of the war were the following:

• War, malaria and lack of water brought the death huge numbers of people on both sides, causing severe demographic shifts.
• Most of the territory was in the hands of Paraguay, Bolivia occupying only a small area, but being beneficial for finding natural gas.
• The anger of the soldiers after the defeat caused the emergence of workers' parties and from the left, confronted with the ideals of the politicians of the time and which continues to this day, especially in Bolivia.
• Chaco oil never appeared, causing Paraguay to never achieve the expected economic advance.
• After the war, both nations suffered a hard economic crisis that would take years to pass, and that caused serious demonstrations in both countries.