Moreno, Fulgencio (1872–1935)

Fulgencio Moreno (b. 9 November 1872; d. 1935), Paraguayan journalist, diplomat, and historian. Moreno was descended on his maternal side from several of the founders of the Paraguayan republic, and much of his most important historical work centered on the early period of Paraguay's independence. Born in Asunción, he early decided on a career in journalism and served on the staffs of four major newspapers between 1893 and 1901. Journalism, however, turned out to be a stepping-stone to important political and diplomatic posts. In 1901 he became finance minister, and in 1903, senator. Four years later, the government appointed him to a technical commission to study the rights of Paraguay in the Chaco boundary dispute with Bolivia. Afterward, Moreno turned his efforts to diplomacy more narrowly defined: he served as minister first to Chile and Peru (1913), then to Bolivia (1918), and then back to Chile (1919).

These experiences gave Moreno ample material for his historical pursuits. He was prolific in his production of articles, pamphlets, and books. Among the latter were several works that are still read and admired in Paraguay today. These include Diplomacia paraguaya-boliviana (1904), Estudio sobre la independencia del Paraguay (1912), Paraguay-Bolivia, 3 vols. (1917–1920), and La ciudad de la Asunción (1926). Unlike many Paraguayan historians of his era, Moreno concentrated less on military heroes than on literary figures and movements—and thus his work is noteworthy for its appealing cultural emphases.

See alsoParaguay: The Twentieth Century .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

William Belmont Parker, Paraguayans of To-Day (1921), pp. 163-165.

Jack Ray Thomas, Biographical Dictionary of Latin American Historians and Historiography (1984).

Carlos Zubizarreta, Cien vidas paraguayas, 2d ed. (1985), pp. 228-231.

Additional Bibliography

Farcau, Bruce W. The Chaco War: Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932–1935. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996.

Scavone, Ricardo. Las relaciones entre el Paraguay y Bolivia en el siglo XIX. Asunción: Servi Libro, 2004.

                                        Thomas L. Whigham