Neither heroes nor villains

The Paraguayan War was the largest and bloodiest conflict in Brazilian history. It was also the largest in Latin America, second only to the American Civil War in continental scope. By pitting the founders of the South American Common Market—Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay—against Paraguay, then a military power seeking a foothold in the region, it defined the borders of the La Plata River. There are no reliable statistics on the death toll, but it is estimated that at least 300,000 lost their lives there. Symbolic in every sense and controversial, the war now gains a fresh perspective. In "Neither Heroes, Nor Villains," journalist Moacir Assunção brings new data to the issue and discusses repercussions that persist to this day, hindering the consolidation of Mercosur. The result of intense research, the book also dissects US participation in the war (in support of Paraguay), which led Brazil to suspend diplomatic relations with the country three times. Featuring interviews with Solano López's great-granddaughter and Lopista intellectuals, the work explores the difficult relations between Brazilian military leaders like the Duke of Caxias and their ally Argentina, like Bartolomeu Mitre. It also provides behind-the-scenes coverage of key episodes of the war, such as Curupaiti, the greatest Allied defeat, which nearly led to the end of the conflict; and the diseases that ravaged the country and killed more people than the fighting itself. The author also discusses the consequences of the conflict, the war's great villainies, and, for the first time, the anti-Brazil books published in several Latin American countries and addressed by Brazilian authors. Profusely illustrated, it illuminates characters largely absent from traditional historiography: the first victim of the conflict, the governor of Mato Grosso province, who died of starvation in Paraguay; José Díaz and Caballero, the greatest generals in the Paraguayan army; and Solano López's son, Enrique, who filed lawsuits against the Brazilian and Argentine governments—the family hired Ruy Barbosa as his lawyer—in an attempt to reclaim lands that had belonged to his mother. Neither Heroes nor Villains is a fundamental book for understanding the social, political, and economic dynamics of the South American continent.