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Rafael de la Cruz Franco Ojeda (October 22, 1896 – September 16, 1973) was a Paraguay military officer, politician and statesman who served as President of Paraguay after the February Revolution, from February 20, 1936, to August 13, 1937. He was the historical leader and founder of the National Revolutionary Party (Revolutionary Febrerista Party since 1951).
Under his presidency, he implemented Paraguay's first major land reform (the confiscation, and breaking up, of some large private land holdings) and introduced a number of pro-labor reforms.
He was the son of Federico Franco and Marcelina Ojeda. His father was a professor of mathematics at the School of Agronomy, founded by Moisés Santiago Bertoni, and in 1940 she was transferred to San Lorenzo.
He was married to Deidamia Solalinde and they had six children. After conducting his basic studies, Franco entered the Military College in 1915.
He was commander of Infantry Regiment No. 5 under General Eduvigis Diaz, based in Bahía Negra. On August 13, 1924, Franco was promoted to captain. On February 10, 1926, he was appointed commander of the company cadets of the Military College. He was assigned important tasks, such as training new cadres of officers or troops. In November 1926, he was appointed commander of Infantry Regiment No. 2, with a seat in Villa Hayes.
Franco was next assigned to the Chaco Department. In 1928, acting without orders, Major Franco led an attack that seized and destroyed a Bolivian fort in the Chaco that had been constructed inside Paraguayan territory. Franco was later removed from his command for this action. In August 1928, Franco was appointed commander of the Military Aviation School.
Promoted to colonel in 1933, Franco commanded the first division of the Paraguayan Third Corps in the Chaco War. Franco soon developed a tactic of using long-range patrols to explore weaknesses in the enemy lines. After finding gaps in the Bolivian defenses at Alihuatá, Franco launched a surprise attack on July 12, 1933, that quickly penetrated enemy defenses, forcing the Bolivian 4th Division into headlong retreat.
Franco later became the director of Paraguay's Military School At the end of the war, Franco participated in the Victory Parade as commander of the Second Corps, where the Asunción crowd received him in the streets with acclamation. In 1933, he was promoted to the rank of colonel; on his initiative, Fort Mariscal López and Fort Falcón were built. Later, he took the leadership of Infantry Regiment No. 5 under General Diaz, with its seat in Bahía Negra. He suffered a leg injury, which left him with a limp, due to an accident in his last years at the Military College, when he fell from a horse in the basement of the Cabildo. His troops called him by the affectionate nickname of "Leon Karê," Guaraní for "lame lion."
Certain measures increased the state's involvement in the economy. On 24 February 1936, the government created the Central Bank of the Republic of Paraguay, which took over the role of the Stock Exchange and also became the sole conduit for foreign trade. Rafael Franco proposed that the state should be involved in any oil exploration. His government also set a base price for certain key commodities such as cotton. In addition, the state merchant fleet was reorganized.
The Franco government provided access to Paraguay's first Japanese settlers, and also facilitated the return of Paraguayan prisoners of war from Bolivia.
His government sought to acquire 60 Italian military aircraft in readiness for any threats from Paraguay's neighbours (including Bolivia) and in light of the serious developments then transpiring in Europe. Orders for these aircraft were later rejected by the liberal government that succeeded Rafael Franco's. As a result, only a small number of aircraft arrived. The original contract included:
In addition, the government provided pensions to veterans and the war wounded, and delivered decorations and salaries to the regular army.
Franco maintained an adamant stance of not ceding any territory conquered by the Paraguayan army in the Chaco War.
Franco's government halted construction of the Oratory of Our Lady of the Assumption and re-established it as the National Pantheon of Heroes. The government rehabilitated the 19th-century dictator Francisco Solano López, overturning the decrees that had declared him an outlaw and declaring him instead an unexampled National Hero. An expedition was sent to recover López' remains from his unmarked grave in Cerro Corá, which were reinterred in the new Pantheon. The government also declared Adolfo Rojas Silva a National Hero; he was the first officer to fall in the Chaco War.
March 1 (Heroes' Day) was established as a public holiday.
The Franco government created two new ministries for Public Health and Agriculture, respectively. It also oversaw the creation of several other new agencies and bodies, including the National Association of the Indigenous, the National Labour Department, the national labour union federation (CNT), the National Women's Union, the Development and Labour Commission, the Civilian Mobilization Committee, the National Association of Ex-Combatants (UPV current Chaco) of which Franco was appointed as the first president, and the National Revolutionary Union.
The government issued a new series of banknotes of 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 heavy weights, and established a philatelic Section within the Directorate General of Post and Telegraph.
Improvements to the country's infrastructure included the first civilian airport, work on ports, and the foundation of several hospitals in the country's interior.
Rafael Franco created two political formations to support his agenda, the Liga Nacional Independiente (Independent National League) and the Unión Nacional Revolucionaria (Revolutionary National Union). Conversely, the right-wing Liberal Party was forced underground.
His health had been deteriorating in his late 70s. In the last years of his life, he lived in a small room that was originally a garage located in the streets of Herrera. From there, he sometimes walked to a cafe that was located on the Avenue. There he met with old friends and comrades with whom he talked of politics and on military and social issues.
In September 1973, Franco entered the Hospital Americano because of his serious condition and did not come out alive. He was visited by Colonel Arturo Bray, with whom he maintained an enmity over 30 years. Colonel Rafael Franco died on September 16, 1973. One of the largest flower wreaths were sent by Arturo Bray. The inscription read: "To a great patriot."
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