THE SOUTH AMERICAN WAY^331
say; but it showed an awareness of racial realities and signaled a
deliberate effort to avoid the color-based segmentation that marked
the rest of Latin American society.
Dr. Francia and his successors, Lopez father and son, would turn
the country into an enlightened Sparta—egalitarian, literate,
disciplined, and brave. Elementary schooling was to be free and
compulsory from age seven, a heroic ambition. Although that was
easier said than done, the system did start with 5,000 pupils, rising
to 17,000 under Carlos Antonio Lopez in 1857, 25,000 in 1862—
roughly half of the eligible age group. "Probably a record for the
future Third World in the nineteenth century!" exults one admirer.^37
The pupils were to learn the three R's, plus a civic catechism. In this
way, they would know who they were and why. Meanwhile the
instructors, like good soldiers on duty, wore "government issue":
two shirts, two pairs of trousers, a poncho, a hat, a scarf. Teaching
materials were hard to come by, because the unfriendly Argentines
were blockading river access, but in the early days the state did get
hold of five thousand flutes (fifes?)—one for each child. One is
reminded of the stress that Plato placed on music as part of his ideal
education; also the role of music in Muhammad Ali's schools in
Egypt of the same period (cf. below, chapter xxiv). But Muhammad
Ali never aspired to universal schooling.
The trouble with idealized, reformist states is that they gain
strength by improvement and then succumb to temptation. They
threaten and subvert their neighbors, upset the balance of power and
the status quo. Such actions invite reactions. So it was that the
dictators of little Paraguay nursed ambitions, along with fears of
danger from the bigger countries around; in short, a rational, latently
irrational paranoia. (Who says paranoiacs don't have enemies?) The
biggest threat came from Argentina, which saw Paraguay as a
rebellious province and sought to annex it.^38 But all the neighboring
countries looked unkindly on revolutionary experiments next door.
Paraguay's leaders, then, were determined to build the economy
and acquire the armaments necessary to defend and attack in all
directions. For this, they needed not only weapons but the tools and
machines of industry. These could be had solely from Europe, and
although Paraguay, with its Indian legacy, had an aversion to things
European, Europeans overseas were more likely to be helpful than
covetous neighbors.
Beginning with Carlos Lopez, the Paraguayan government
contracted with European suppliers for steamboats, steam engines,