Schaerer, Eduardo (1873–1941)

Eduardo Schaerer (b. 2 December 1873; d. 12 November 1941), Paraguayan statesman and president (1912–1916). Schaerer was related to German colonists who came to Paraguay in the wake of the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance. Though he was born in Caazapá, a small hamlet in the Paraguayan interior, Schaerer displayed distinctly urban ambitions and efficiency, which stood him in good stead at the Colegio Nacional and ultimately in his business affairs.

Politically, Schaerer was a Liberal, and after the Liberal Party came to power after the 1904 revolution, he held a variety of important government posts, including director general of the Customs House, mayor of Asunción, and interior minister. Schaerer's business acumen had already made him a wealthy man, and he used his money to promote his candidacy for president. During his administration, considerable progress was made in the modernization of Asunción, an undertaking highlighted by the inauguration of a tramway system. In foreign relations, he kept Paraguay neutral during World War I.

Schaerer remained influential in Liberal circles after his term of office had expired. For a time he was a national senator and eventually became president of the Senate. He provided financial backing for various Liberal newspapers and remained an important force in the party into the 1930s.

See alsoParaguay, Political Parties: Liberal Party; War of the Triple Alliance.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

William Belmont Parker, Paraguayans of To-Day (1921), pp. 161-162.

Harris Gaylord Warren, Rebirth of the Paraguayan Republic: The First Colorado Era, 1878–1904 (1985), pp. 125-126.

Additional Bibliography

Amaral, Raúl, and Roberto Paredes. Los presidentes del Paraguay. Asunción: Servilibro, 2005.

Carrón, Juan María. El régimen liberal, 1870–1930: Sociedad, economía. Asunción: Arandurã Editorial, 2004.

Lewis, Paul H. Political Parties and Generations in Paraguay's Liberal Era, 1869–1940. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993.

                                    Thomas L. Whigham