Justo Pastor Benítez (28 May 1897 – 7 February 1963) was a Paraguayan historian, writer, and Liberal politician.
Biography On 28 May 1897, Benítez was born in Asunción. He studied law at the Universidad Nacional de Asunción (where he would later be a professor), was editor for the El Liberal and El Diario periodicals from 1919 onwards, a national deputy between 1920 and 1927 and Minister of Justice in 1930; in the 1930s, he would occupy several other cabinet positions.
In the Liberal Party, he formed a group with , R. Antonio Ramos, Efraím Cardozo, and Julio César Chaves. In May 1932, as Foreign Minister and responding to Carlos Saavedra Lamas (the Argentine foreign minister)'s inquiry on Paraguayan intentions in the Chaco War, Benítez demanded that Bolivia adhered to the law of war and that the League of Nations monitored the conflict fairly. In June 1934, Benítez was replaced as, like his predecessor Daniel Sánchez Bustamante, he advocated for a peaceful resolution to the conflict; he switched posts with Rogelio Ibarra, remaining in Rio de Janeiro for the remainder of the conflict. In October 1938, he rejected the ambassadorship to Bolivia under Félix Paiva as a part of the Liberal refusal to join Paiva's proposed coalition.
In the late 1950s, he resided in Brazil. By then, he had served in various Liberal positions including national deputy, party director, and cabinet minister.
On 7 February 1963, he died in Asunción.
Works
(on the Chaco War)
(prologue)
Undated La constitución de 1870 Ensayo sobre el liberalismo La cuenca del Plata Estigarribia, el soldado del Chaco El solar guaraní Carlos Antonio López La revolución de Mayo en Paraguay Mancebos de la tierra
Sources:
See also Bolivia–Paraguay relations History of Paraguay
Notes
Sources
Bibliography