19 April
The Paraguayan Prime Minister Juan Natalicio González has arrived in Cordoba for talks with the Argentine government and to meet the President. It is expected that the talks are likely to focus on economic aid and possibly the current situation regarding the joint Argo-Paraguayan naval force on the Rio Paraguay.
22 April
The Paraguayan Prime Minister Juan Natalicio González was seated in the lounge of the Conservative Party Club, after a lavish dinner the guests gathered for a cigar and brandy and to talk business. Shortly the topic of conversation turned to the Marxist cooperatives in Paraguay. González outlined the problems he was having. His Catholic People’s Party had given up all hope of land reform. Now almost all the major arable farms where either owned or controlled by the conservative Landowners Association or the Marxist Party commune farms. The LA were mechanising the farms, merging smallholders into larger plots and using imported American farming equipment to boost yields and profits but also making many tenant farmers either homeless or forced to work for less money as tractor drivers and machine operators. The Marxist Party commune farms fed into a party-run distribution system, including shops, mainly in rural areas but in some northern towns too. Food was cheaper but little of it was getting to the bigger cities and supply problems and rising prices were big political problems if a flare up of civil action was to be avoided. The two competing methods of modernisation had still not come to any kind of accommodation after almost five years of battling for land and resources. There already had been dozen of incidents, brawls, workers beaten by masked gangs, arson of grain silos and other criminal acts.
The Argentine State Minister Jose Marcos de Ballista cleared his throat, “the answer is to destroy one of the competitors. From what you’ve told us a deal with the Landowners is most likely?”
González nodded. “So use the tools of the state against the Marxists. If you nationalised all the commune farms and their assets then you would own them and the farmers would be government employees,” de Ballista suggested.
“How would I pay for that? The nation is broke.” González, shook his head.
Fernando Balbin, the Argentine Education and Culture Minister had the answer. Argentine capital, but from the right sources. “It’s simple, you acquire all the assets by compulsory purchase so you only need to cover the operating costs. Now you have a set of farms and a distribution network, everyone in this room knows a monopoly is bad, so you sell the distribution arm off as a private enterprise. Any of our larger meat exporters could easily buy such a company and run it at a nice profit. I know of at least two important investor friends of mine who are willing to embark on a new venture like this.”
González nodded as he mulled over the proposal, doubtless there would be bribes to pay but the deal could be done; even he might get a cut of the proceeds.
“Then you do an audit of the productivity of the land,” Balbin continued, “and you make sure the Association farms look much better, so that gives you the answer to sell off the land back to the landowners and they would be clay in your hands to mould.”
González stroked his chin as he sucked on his cigar, “And if those Marxist fools don’t like it there are plenty of unemployed dirt farmers who would be eager to work for even a modest wage. They will fight though.”
de Ballista shrugged, “The Army can deal with them if things get rough,” he smacked his fist into his other hand to emphasise the point, “now is the time to strike while they are complacent and occupied with what the landowners are doing.”
González smiled as he set down his brandy, “Those who have no food soon lose the appetite to fight.” The room filled with laughter.