Editing History of Paraguay (section)

===February Revolution===
{{main|February Revolution (Paraguay)}}
The revolution of February 1936 overthrew Liberal Party politicians who had won the war. The soldiers, veterans, students, and others who revolted actually felt that victory had come despite the Liberal government. Promising a national and social revolution, they occupied Asunción and brought Colonel [[Rafael Franco]] to power.

During its 18 months of existence, the Franco government showed that it was serious about social justice by expropriating more than 200,000 hectares of land and distributing it to 10,000 peasant families. In addition, the new government guaranteed workers the [[right to strike]] and established an [[eight-hour day|eight-hour work day]].

Perhaps the government's most lasting contribution{{according to whom|date=July 2016}} affected national consciousness. In a gesture calculated to rewrite history and erase seven decades of national shame, Franco declared [[Francisco Solano López]] a national hero "sin ejemplar" (without precedent) because he had stood up to foreign threats, and sent a team to [[Battle of Cerro Corá|Cerro Corá]] to find his unmarked grave. His remains, along with those of his father, were buried in the [[National Pantheon of the Heroes]]. A monument to him was erected on Asunción's highest hill.

Despite the popular enthusiasm that greeted the February Revolution, Franco's government lacked a clear program. When he published his distinctly [[fascist]]-sounding Decree Law No. 152 promising a "[[totalitarian]] transformation" similar to those in Europe, protests erupted. The youthful, idealistic elements that had come together to produce the Febrerista movement were actually a hodgepodge of conflicting political tendencies and social opposites, and Franco was soon in deep political trouble.

A new party of regime supporters, the Revolutionary National Union (Unión Nacional Revolucionaria), was founded in November 1936. Although the new party called for [[representative democracy]], rights for peasants and workers, and socialization of key industries, it failed to broaden Franco's political base. In the end, Franco lost his popular support because he failed to keep his promises to the poor. He dared not expropriate the properties of foreign landowners, who were mostly Argentines. In addition, the Liberals, who still had influential support in the army, agitated constantly for Franco's overthrow. When Franco ordered Paraguayan troops to abandon the advanced positions in the Chaco that they had held since the 1935 truce, the army revolted in August 1937 and returned the Liberals to power.

The army, however, did not hold a unified opinion about the Febreristas. Several attempted coups served to remind President [[Félix Paiva]] (the former dean of law at the National University) that although the February Revolution was out of power, it was far from dead. People who suspected that the Liberals had learned nothing from their term out of office soon had proof: a peace treaty signed with Bolivia on 21 July 1938, fixed the final boundaries behind the Paraguayan battle lines.