Leopoldo Ramos Giménez

Leopoldo Ramos Giménez (1891–1988) was a Paraguayan intellectual, writer, anarchist, journalist, poet, playwright, politician and trade unionist. He was born on 14 October 1891 in Villarrica and died on 5 January 1988 in Asunción. He was one of the founders of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. He was the son of Norberta Ramos and Eleuterio Giménez, and was born in Villarrica, of el Espiritu Santo, in the Guairá Department. He married Ina Rolón with whom he produced children.

Education

Ramos Giménez began studying and writing with Manuel Ortiz Guerrero. They were companions, they went to school together, sitting in the same bench. He also interacted with Juan Natalicio González, who would become one of his loyal friends. From an early age he had already stood out as a promising prose writer, poet and one of the first literaries with socialist ideology in contemporary Paraguay. At various periods he lived in Brazil and Argentina.

Literary career

Ramos Giménez began writing in the newspapers of his native city. Then in 1914, he sent some contributions to the literary magazine "Chronicle". A few months before he had appeared in the April 1913 edition of Asunción Estaba. His contributions to the literary magazine were short-lived as the magazine was closed down in less than two years. The first collaboration was signed with the acronym: L. R. J. and was published in the "Correos" section of the magazine. It was entitled: La cumbre del Titan (The summit of the Titan). This is a moving elegy on the Aeschylean path of Mcal. López, when he timidly began the campaign for the vindication of his image.

Works

He major works include the following:

• Piras sagradas, Asunción, 1917 - (Sacred pyres)
• Eros, Asunción, 1918 - (Eros)
• Alas y sombras, Buenos Aires, 1919 - (Wings and shadows)
• Cantos del solar heroico, Asunción, 1920 - (Heroic songs of the sun)
• Canto a las palmeras de Río de Janeiro, Río de Janeiro, 1932. - (Song of the palms of Rio de Janeiro) Collection of de verses.
• Tabla de sangre, libro de combate, contra el régimen de esclavitud imperante en los yerbales y obrajes del Alto Paraná, Asunción, 1919 - (Table of blood, book of combat against the regime of slavery prevailing in the mate plantations mills of Alto Parana)
• La bestia blanca, Asunción, 1919 - (The white beast)
• En el centenario del mariscal López, polémica histórica, San Pablo, 1927 - (In the centenary of Marshal López, historical controversy)
• La yerba mate, Asunción, 1931 - (The yerba matte)
• El Brasil, su desarrollo económico-industrial, Río de Janeiro, 1932 - (Brazil, its economic and industrial development)
• Siembra blanca, campaña de aproximación paraguayo-brasilera, Río de Janeiro, 1932 - (White Sowing, Paraguayan-Brazilian campaign approach)
• El hierro y otros metales en el Paraguay - (Iron and other metals in Paraguay)
• Historia cartográfica del Chaco, Buenos Aires, 1935 - (Cartographic history of the Chaco)
• El Chaco Boreal en la historia y en nuestros días, Buenos Aires, 1934 - (The Boreal Chaco in history and today)

For theatre he wrote: La inquisición del oro (The Inquisition of gold), a drama in three acts and two frames released in the National Theater of the Assumption. The main idea was to raise awareness about the rights of the working masses. It was performed by a cast of amateurs, where the protagonist was himself the author of the work.

Other diverse works are to be added to the above lists as they have come to light in the Asuncion, Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Rio de Janeiro press.

Journalistic career

In the press, Ramos Giménez directed several newspapers and magazines. In 1913 he founded and directed the fortnightly magazine "New Era" and "Prometheus" in the following year. This would be one of the several vocalizers of organized labor in Paraguay.

He founded, along with P. Alejandro Islas the weekly Acción Paraguaya (Paraguayan Action) which was widely publicized, but unfortunately short lived. Its main purpose was to defend the interests of Paraguay on the occasion of the peace conference whose deliberations were met at that time in the late 1920s.

During 1925 Numancia, Patria, Paraguay and Progreso Nacional were created. In 1930 he edited "Journal of the Military Health System: Annals of Paraguay."

In 1929 he founded the newspaper El Censor and "La Unión, the latter again in 1933. In 1934 he created the newspapers: Unión Nacional and Estrella.

He founded, in 1940, the Compañía Editorial Paraguaya (Paraguayan Publishing Company), successor to the Compañía Editora Nacional (National Publishing Company), also created by him.

Political career

Ramos Giménez was a great promoter of the labor movement and trade unionism in Paraguay. He was strongly influenced by the life and works of Raphael Barret and José William Bertotto, influences which would later be revealed in his various journalistic and literary productions, supporting social causes via these means.

Just as those fought and ensured the rights of the proletariat, Ramos Giménez has always been closely linked to these efforts. He founded, on December 3, 1914, along with Rufino Recalde Milesi and several others (among them probably Libre Jara), el Partido Obrero (the Workers Party), which later, in 1918, was renamed the Partido Socialista Revolucionario (the Socialist Revolutionary Party).

He was also a proponent of "Centro Regional Workers of Paraguay" along with Rufino Recalde Milesi, Cayetano Raimundi Soler Ignacio Nunez and many others.

Due to his critical and fierce reasoning, but justified opposition, he was shot, becoming the victim of social struggle. Fortunately the attack was not fatal so he was able to slowly recover.

References