Juan Bautista Gill

Juan Bautista Gill García (b. 1840, d. 1877) was President of Paraguay from November 25 1874 to April 12 1877.

Juan Bautista Gill Garcia del Barrio was born in Asuncion on October 28, 1840. In 1854 he traveled to Buenos Aires where he did his secondary education and medicine, which unfortunately failed to finish. His parents were Juan Andres Gill and Escolástica Garcia del Barrio y Bedoya. He was the grandson of Don Juan Miguel Gill, a founding father and member of the Cabildo, with Celtic blood. He was married to Maria Concepcion Diaz de Bedoya.

His Life

Member of one of the main families of his era. He returned to Paraguay in 1863. When the war was declared to Argentina, he enlisted in the battalion 40, which was composed of high social position young men and due to his knowledge in medicine, he was appointed to military health division. According to some historians he fell prisoner on December 30, 1868 and according to historian Juan B. Gill Aguinaga, he served in blood hospitals and was captured three days earlier in the battle of Ita Ybaté. In mid-January 1869, Gill was among those who returned to Asuncion, the allies liberated them under the condition that they would not join the national army again, that continued fighting then.

His Government

He was President of the Republic of Paraguay between November 25, 1874 and April 12, 1877. He had as vice president his cousin Higinio Uriarte Garcia del Barrio. His cabinet was composed by Emilio Gill and Adolfo Saguier, Finance; Germán Serrano and Jose Urdapilleta, Interior, Bernardino Caballero and Benjamin Aceval In Justice, Culture and Public Instruction; Patricio Escobar , War and Navy, and Facundo Machaín and Benjamin Aceval, in Foreign Affairs.

During his government he implemented the paper money, created the National College of the capital and significantly increased taxes. On February 3, 1876, the border treaty, peace, trade and navigation with Argentina was signed, by which Paraguay lost the territories of Misiones, south of Parana River, some islands in that river and the territories situated between the Pilcomayo and Bermejo rivers, although the Chaco territory was saved.

He also adopted the Argentine Civil Code and in order to stabilize the national economy, the Tobacco law of April 22, 1875 was established. The government was granted the privilege of exporting this product for 5 years and it was banned for individuals to carry out export or import of such products. Then the same law was applied on the soap and salt for a period of three years.

The government of Gill, like that of his predecessors, was not spared of revolutionary movements. A riot broke out in Caacupé, in December 1875, which was led by General Serrano, his former Interior Minister and it was supported by Brazilian forces. The revolt was controlled with the death of Serrano and other rebels.

Other riots were carried out with the intention to overthrow the President, but gave no results, until that tragic event which led an uprising and with it the start of a bloody civil war which began on May 27, 1922 and lasted for more than one year.

Political Biography

He was Finance Minister and Chairman of the Senate. On January 25, 1869 he participated in the meeting convened by Don Serapio Machain to interest the allied forces of occupation in a request project for the establishment of a provisional government. Among those who attended that meeting were: Jose Segundo Decoud, Cayo Miltos, Carlos Loizaga, Juan A. Jara and Salvador Jovellanos. Accused of funds misuse, the Senate dismissed him, but in response Rivarola dissolved the Congress. Protagonist of a series of turbulent situations, he accompanied a successful revolution and returned to the portfolio of Finance. In 1874, he became president of the republic.

Ambushed in broad daylight.

The government of Gill was surrounded by enemies. Some economic failures and the non-implementation of emergency proposals aroused hatred in some people who were around of Juan B. Gill.

Conspiracies of medium gravity were under way, supported by the confusion that ruled. But there was one that crossed all boundaries, it was planned by Don Juan Silvano Godoi, which included murder. For being him the one who skimmed the evil plan, he moved away and left everything in the hands of his brother Nicanor, who is responsible for carrying out all the "work".

On April 12, 1877, president Gill was travelling in the company of his two “edecanes” (high-ranking officers), down the street in Villarrica (current President Franco). When they were crossing on National Independence, a terrible shot got him and threw him to the ground, where he die immediately. The criminals ran away quicky, among them were Molas and Goiburu, as well as Nicanor who immediately fled to Argentina, where he died at age 90. Thus, an ambush that happened in the city’s center and in broad daylight, killed Juan Bautista Gill.

The Colombian poet Dr. Prospero Pereira Gamba (1830 - 1896), who lived in our country as an exile, reflected this tragic moment lived by the president in stanzas of his work "The spectre", which can still be read and through which the soul of Gill rightfully tormented his executioners’ conscience.

References

* Publications at the newspaper ABC Color.
* EVP - Wikipedia
* [http://www.evp.edu.py/index.php?title=Portada Enciclopedia Virtual Paraguaya - Portal]